The Literal History of Thanksgiving
by sephcounttheways
Summary: 100% Historically Accurate. SephxCloud, RudexReno, ZackxAerith.
1. Thanksgiving Crisis

Cloud stopped. He wasn't alone.

He listened intently to every sound, trying to catalogue each one. On that late summer afternoon, the variety of new noise was exciting and overwhelming. The birds in the distance were a species that had no English name, as of yet. There was a breeze, some small woodland animals dashing around, and a lovely stream nearby.

But then beneath all that, there was a softly strained breathing. It was a desperate sound, and it was trying unsuccessfully to be quieter.

Cloud pulled out his musket, and the sound stopped altogether.

Whoever it was couldn't hold their breath forever. Cloud waited a few moments and surely enough, there was an almost silent little gasp of air intake. And to the left, there was a bright splash of color in the gathered brush that didn't quite belong.

Cloud kicked away the brush with his musket pointed, ready to defend himself against whoever might have leapt out, once discovered.

The native didn't leap at him, although he was completely defiant with his fists clenched and his eyes slammed shut. His bright silver hair was odd, very unlike the darker hair of most of his kind, and had been the thing to give away his hiding spot. All he had to wear were leather leggings and slip-shoes, besides a few greens feathers attached to a simple headband.

Even though he carried a sword on his hip and wore the face paint of a warrior, he wasn't even trying to fight. Cloud carefully crouched down and touched the man's arm. The native tensed, but still did not open his eyes.

"A thousand apologies, but you must leave now, Sir..." Cloud said gently, hoping that speaking kindly enough would somehow put the native at ease.

The man then looked up at Cloud with the brightest green eyes he'd ever seen. He whispered something and blinked his bleary eyes.

Even the weak whisper of the native was deep, and resonated inside Cloud's chest. He swallowed, completely taken aback by the man's beauty. "Your people are gone, and you need to leave as well. I'm sorry."

He couldn't have known what Cloud was saying, and gave him a pleading gaze that stole his breath and made his heart rate increase. This native man was simply the loveliest thing Cloud had ever seen in his short life, the kind of angelic vision sailors talked about but could never really describe in any way that made sense in reality.

"CHOO!" The warrior let out a wet, whooping sneeze that startled Cloud halfway to death. The man gracelessly wiped his nose with the back of his hand, snorted up a snot bubble and his head fell down weakly onto the grass.

When the shock passed, Cloud bit his lip and considered his options. He was assigned to patrol the area and scare away any remaining stragglers, using any force necessary. It was a holy medicine land to the natives, but the English needed the sturdy wood of the surrounding trees, needed to build more solid structures in the colony. The natives had not been pleased, and had put up quite a struggle despite the fact that most of them were deathly ill.

This beautiful native man had obviously caught a nasty case of whatever summer flu had killed a great number of his kind so far. He might have been in the sacred area hoping to find a remedy for himself, and there lost his strength.

Cloud settled on his knees carefully. "I know you're not well... you can't stay here, though. If someone else finds you, they might kill you. Do you understand?"

The native was shivering, despite the warm temperature of the afternoon. Cloud wondered how long he had been hiding there under the brush, and felt his eyes water in empathy for this lonely, sick and dying man.

Cloud had been raised in an orphanage, and then joined the navy when he was eleven years old. He'd spent most of his life hungry, cold, and fighting off unwelcome romantic advances from lonely sailors who found Cloud's pretty face, blonde hair, and blue eyes to be very enticing when nothing female was around. It was a hard life, but he'd also been shown kindness by a lot of strangers as he made his way through childhood and the navy, all the way to the New World.

Cloud was eighteen now, but he still had a soft heart. He couldn't send this gorgeous man off to die alone in the wilderness. He almost wished he had found the man a few days earlier when there were more natives still around, they would have taken this man and helped him. Or at least would have been able to comfort him in his final hours.

"What's your name?" Cloud asked. "Name? I'm Cloud."

The man wasn't interested in making friends, and threw his arm over his head as he muttered what didn't even need to be translated into, '_Go the hell away'_.

Cloud considered putting the warrior out of his misery, but that option was an ugly one. Something didn't feel right about pushing natives off their own land... Cloud hadn't killed any natives himself, but also hadn't voiced any suggestions to share the land somehow rather than simply _take_ it. Guilt had been hanging over him since his first days in the New World, and now that he was presented with a chance to do something kind for these native people, he wanted to act upon it.

"I'm going to pick you up," Cloud told him, before sliding his hand beneath the man's neck and hip to pull him up into his arms. The man was easily a foot taller than Cloud and far more muscular, but he wasn't nearly as heavy as his frame suggested. It was easy to carry him, until he began to struggle.

"Settle down, there's no shame in being carried a bit. I'm taking you someplace safe," And with that, Cloud trotted back to camp with the unhappy native barely contained in his arms.

His tent was on the edge of the small, loose collection of thrown-together structures that made up their colony. And as he'd hoped, everyone was too busy with his or her own tasks to notice Cloud as he snuck the man inside.

Cloud set the man down on his cot, pulled off his hip holster that carried his sword, and threw two heavy blankets on top of him. He then quickly fetched him a tin of water, then a second and third when the native drank thirstily. Cloud then took out a small sandwich that was rationed to him for lunch, and tore it in half. When he offered it to the native, the man had the nerve to turn his nose up.

"Rabbit," Cloud told him. "Eat."

"_Ffph_," the native huffed at him.

"Please try to eat," Cloud insisted, taking a bite of his own half to encourage him. "Tasty!"

The native took a small bite of the dry, cold sandwich to appease his captor.

Cloud sighed. "I lied, it's not very tasty. But it's all I can give you right now."

The native managed to eat a few bites before he grew too tired to go on. Cloud watched the man's green eyes blur and become heavy. He was fast asleep in moments, and Cloud took the uneaten food and wrapped it in a parchment in case the native woke up and wanted it later. He decided to hunt something and bring it to the man for dinner, and would give him a large meal to himself.

If he was going to recover, food would help. If he was going to die, Cloud would be content to know that he did all that could be done.

He thought about the native man for the rest of the day, and hoped sincerely that he wouldn't return to a very lovely, but very dead body lying in his cot. He shot down a good sized bird for the native's dinner, hoping that the man would still be alive to eat it. Cloud prepared the bird before retrieving some rations from the colony's base and avoiding any invitations from his comrades to dine with them.

As Cloud approached his tent, he took a breath before stepping in. The man was lying still beneath the blankets in the same spot that Cloud had left him in, and dread chilled his spine. That is, until he heard the snoring. It didn't take much investigation to find that he was sleeping deeply, completely at ease in Cloud's cot.

The native looked like the sort of fierce man who would never allow himself to be snuck up on, so Cloud tried to wake him with extra gentle care. With a soft touch to his shoulder and a whisper, Cloud called, "Hello? Sir?"

The man came awake slowly, and with the most sorrowful expression Cloud had ever seen on another human face. This native was completely vulnerable, miserable and exhausted, and didn't have anybody in the world to care for him but a stranger from an enemy tribe that he didn't even understand. Either from frustration or mourning for his loss, tears edged the bright green eyes of the warrior.

"... I'm so sorry," Cloud told him with tears in his own eyes, carefully sitting on the edge of the cot. "Can you eat some more? Then you can go back to sleep."

The man accepted the meal, seeming to understand that his body needed the nourishment even if he didn't have an appetite. They ate in silence together, and when the native couldn't continue he gave his plate back to Cloud. That small action seemed to sap any strength the man had left, and he literally passed out while still sitting up.

Cloud put down his own plate, and wiped his hands on his trousers. He then helped the man lay in a more comfortable position. He was unable to resist combing his fingers through the length of the man's long silver hair, and took the liberty of picking out all the leaves, twigs and flowers that had gotten caught up in his tresses while hiding under the brush. He then gently removed the man's feathered hair band so he could lie against the pillow more comfortably.

Since he was already taking daring liberties with this stranger's personal appearance, Cloud wet a cloth and used it to gently wipe the warrior makeup off of the man's face. It was getting all over his cot, and most had been sweat off from the fever, anyways.

Cleaning the man's face exposed flawless brown skin, sharp cheekbones and soft lips, Cloud guessed the man to be a little older than himself, perhaps around the age of twenty. He had a very ornate tattoo along his upper arm, and Cloud took the opportunity to look at it up close. It wasn't the crude scrapings he'd seen on other sailors, but something almost elegantly done, and rich in saturated color.

The man shivered, and Cloud realized all the soft touching was giving the poor guy goosebumps. So he quickly pulled his hands back and covered the native up to his chin before snuffing out the lamp.

Cloud stood stupidly in his tent, in the dark, coming to the realization that he didn't have anywhere to sleep. After a moment of contemplation, he folded up a spare shirt to shove underneath his head as he slept on the hard ground beside his otherwise occupied cot.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Cloud couldn't pause in his duties to the colony, but his thoughts revolved around caring for the native. He gave the man half of his rationed meals every day, and did a little light hunting to supplement their diet.

When an entire week passed, Cloud became certain that the native was going to survive his brush with the deadly summer flu. The only downside was that this man could eat... a lot. But it was wonderful to see the man snap down food hungrily, because that meant he was going to be okay.

As the native's energy increased, so did his desire to bathe and relieve himself without Cloud standing a few feet away with his back turned. But despite his best efforts at making it clear that he wanted to go outside alone, Cloud refused.

"You're not well enough to be wandering around, what if you sneeze or something while you're doing your business? Do you really want to be caught with your pants down, Sir? I don't think so!"

This warrior was obviously an extremely proud man, and clearly despised this treatment. But he was smart enough behind his sharp green eyes to know that he had no choice but to accept the help from the short, bossy white boy.

Cloud was on his way back home with dinner one evening, there was a very odd sound resonating through camp.

"What is that?" One of his neighbors wondered aloud as Cloud passed by quickly, hoping that his guest had not left the tent. The thought of the ill native being discovered and possibly killed as an intruder quickened Cloud's walk into a dash.

He opened his tent to find the young warrior sitting up in bed, rearranging the feathers in his hair and cooing a very pretty, but very loud tribal song.

"Shh! Be silent!" Cloud hissed.

The native's vibrant green eyes narrowed into venomous slits.

"Don't look at me like that!" Cloud whispered heatedly. "If they find out you're here, you're dead! And I'll probably get shipped back home as a prisoner!"

The native remained angrily silent as he ate half of Cloud's food, before rolling over to drift back to sleep in Cloud's cot. There wasn't even the slightest hint of gratitude.

"... You better be thankful you're so pretty," Cloud rumbled as he tried to make himself comfortable on the ground.

The next couple of weeks were both difficult and incredibly fun. The man slowly regained his health, and eventually became rather antsy during the day. Cloud didn't want him to take up singing yet again to alleviate his boredom, so one evening Cloud tried to demonstrate exercises that he could do within the tent.

"Try hopping up and down!" Cloud suggested, and began to bounce in place. "Hop, hop!"

That was the first time he heard the native laugh, and it was at great volume and length. The man laughed so hard that Cloud had to hold his hands over his mouth to stifle him.

Instead of bouncing up and down like an idiot, Cloud would come back from working long days to find the native twirling his sword around in the tent, doing what training he could in the limited space.

It made Cloud nervous to see the obvious strength coiled up in the sinewy body, but the native was always respectful, and kept his sword sheathed when Cloud was home.

Again thinking of his new friend, Cloud brought back a block of wood and a pocketknife, and the native quickly picked up on the art of whittling. The warrior scraped the first block down into nothing, but then worked carefully on the second. The other colonists claimed that the natives were savage, but... this man was sharp, intelligent, and entirely captivating without having a single word to say to Cloud in English. And with both sword and knife on hand, he'd never threatened Cloud for an instant.

He seemed far more focused on his whittling project, and seemed to have something very specific in mind. At nights in the candlelight, Cloud found it difficult not to watch the muscles in the native's forearms and hands flex under his skin as he worked, or study the intense expression of concentration on his handsome, exotic face.

Only once he was caught staring – the sly smile the native gave him made Cloud blush down to his chest.

When the native was done carving, he presented Cloud a very sweet looking, detailed little wooden rabbit. He gave it to Cloud the very moment he was finished with it.

Cloud accepted it with a huge smile of gratitude. "Oh, how nice! You made a bunny!"

"Bunny."

"Yes, bunny!" Cloud exclaimed with the same brand of excitement a parent felt when their child said their first word. "Say it again! Bunny!"

"Bunny," The native chuckled, pointing at Cloud. "Hop, hop."

Cloud gasped when he realized he was being mocked. "My name is not Bunny! My name is Cloud Strife!"

The native did not pay attention to that, and referred to Cloud as Bunny from then on.

They couldn't speak to one another, but managed to communicate other ways. If the man was thirsty or hungry, he pantomimed his needs to Cloud. If he needed to go to the bathroom, he put his hands on his hips and waited impatiently at the tent entrance. Since he was at full health and seemed to be aware of the secretive protocol of existing in the colony, Cloud would leave the tent to be sure the coast was clear, and the native would sneak out to do his business in private.

Eventually, a gradual recovery and plenty of pent up energy made the native want to leave at night for more than just a bathroom break. Each time Cloud was frightened that he wouldn't return… and he wasn't sure why. He supposed he felt a sense of obligation for the man, and if he simply disappeared one night he'd always be left wondering whatever became of him.

But each night, the native did return. Sometimes cleaner than he had left and with wet hair, or with some newly hunted nocturnal creature. He always brought back small gifts for Cloud; fresh berries, interesting stones, or colorful flowers to display on his crate. The little natural trinkets seemed to brighten up the tent, and it was… cozy.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Cloud had never had what he could call a home in his entire life. He'd been abandoned as a newborn, and had traveled all over the seas in the navy, searching. Helping to run a ship had been the closest feeling he'd ever had of belonging somewhere. But not even his shipmates had the will or the time to take in an adult orphan into their family for the holidays or during peacetime; they had wives and children that took priority. So Cloud lived alone in the port, and even at eighteen hadn't found a connection with anyone to call his own.

Cloud took the chance to come to the New World because he had no reason to stay in England. The moment he stepped foot on this foreign soil, he had a sense that this was the place he was supposed to be. Some invisible tug had lured him here all the way across the sea… and he wondered if this native man might have been on the other end of that pull.

Cloud told the native man all of this, even though he knew the man couldn't understand a word he was saying. The man listened as though he could, letting Cloud talk at length about the orphanage, about the navy, and the friends he'd known during his life.

In turn, the man then spoke for hours about things in his own language, probably telling his own version of the same events. Cloud listened because he simply liked the sound of the man's voice. It was a lovely sound full of bass, and it was pleasant to drift off while the man told him stories in the dark.

The companionship was like nothing he had ever known. Cloud felt himself eager to return to his tent to "speak" with his best friend, to see what he had done during the day or to cater to any needs he might have had. It wasn't a chore or a moral obligation anymore, he wanted to do it. It was a little codependent, but Cloud knew that he would take care of this man forever if he would stay.

"Goodnight, Sir..." Cloud said to him one night, nearly asleep on the ground beside the occupied cot. "One of these days I'm going to figure out your name..."

Cloud then jumped a little as he felt a hand touch his head from above.

"Bunny..." The native said to him on a yawning sigh, his fingers rubbed through Cloud's soft yellow hair, threading it gently as they both fell asleep.

Cloud woke up the next morning with the native's heavy, warm hand still resting on his head. He'd answered every single grabbing touch from men at sea with fists and teeth, but found something so amazingly comforting in the fact that the native man wanted to touch him this way. It was innocent and familiar, and it made Cloud cheeks glow warm as he listened to the man breathing so quietly nearby.

Cloud pushed his head up a little against his hand. The little bit of movement didn't wake the native, and in his sleep curled his fingers through Cloud's hair, caressing him like a pet.

Small moments like that tightened something in Cloud's chest, and those moments came ever more frequently. Cloud found himself seeking any excuse to touch the native; he liked to comb his fingers through the warrior's hair, to help him apply face paint for night hunting, to take his hands while he whittled new projects to show him different ways to hold the knife.

If the friendly contact bothered the man, he didn't show it. One morning when Cloud was dressing for the day, the man sat up suddenly and reached out for him. Before Cloud knew what was happening, he was standing between the native's spread legs, and the man was unbuttoning his shirt.

"… Wh- what are you –" Cloud stammered, until he realized that he'd misbuttoned his own shirt and the row was off kilter. The native straightened it out for him, then rebuttoned it with fingers that were clumsy with inexperience in working this particular type of garment.

When the job was done, the native had looked up at him with a smile. Everything in Cloud's entire being told him to kiss the man in that moment, but instead he'd nearly tripped over himself in his haste to leave the tent before making a fool of himself.

Five short weeks later, Cloud came back to the tent to find the native standing there, waiting. He was fully dressed, but it was a bit too early yet to steal out into the night to groom himself or hunt. They hadn't even eaten dinner, yet.

Cloud smiled curiously. "Hello Sir. Have a good day?"

The man then began to speak at length, and he sounded utterly serious. Although Cloud was used to the sound of his voice, it frustrated him endlessly that he couldn't understand what he was saying. Cloud turned up his eyebrows and shrugged, unsure of what else to do.

The native spoke again, slowly and with a frown. He pointed to himself, patted his chest and then he nodded his head toward the tent flap meaningfully.

It was then that Cloud noticed the wooden bunny was sitting on the crate beside his cot. All of the little stones that the native had brought to Cloud were arranged in a row. The blankets on the cot were folded.

This man was leaving, and he was trying to say goodbye.

"Oh..." Cloud said dumbly. "Oh. So you're finally ready to leave? That's fantastic... the coast is all clear. I didn't see anyone outside as I was coming in."

The man began to speak again, smooth and confident. His handsome voice and sincere cadence only served to infuriate Cloud, who interrupted him with a sharp shove. "You needn't explain, I can't understand you anyway. Just go ahead. Leave."

The native gazed down at Cloud.

He felt trapped by those green eyes, and felt his face go red and his eyes swim with tears. He looked down at the ground. Beside his cot was a small imprint in the earth where he'd been sleeping for almost two months with nothing but a spare blanket and a makeshift pillow beneath his head. Those items had been picked up, and were also folded on the cot.

Cloud had never owned two blankets or two pillows in his life. One of each had always been enough. For some reason the thought of sleeping alone with the excess caused tears to streak down his face. "Just go, already."

The man took a step towards Cloud, and he bent down a little to regain the eye contact that was always so important to him.

"I brought you here to take care of you, and if you're well...I've done my job," Cloud tried to smile through the fact that he was nearly sobbing. "You'll remember me every time you see a bunny, right?"

"Hop, hop," The man murmured humorlessly as he approached Cloud slowly, closer than he had ever been before. Cloud shrank slightly as the very tall man entered his personal space, their bodies bumping together.

Cloud looked up just as warm lips touched his.

The native youth's lips against his were a shock, but Cloud told himself it was not a _kiss_, it was just a custom he was unfamiliar with. He had been privy to a lot of the natives' rituals and customs before they had departed, but he hadn't seen a whole lot of kissing going on between them, even as they supported each other in battle, plague, and being driven away from their homeland.

But it became a little clearer that this wasn't a friendly custom when he felt a tongue against his, and strong arms wrap tight around him. It was a kiss.

In that moment, Cloud felt his feelings for the man expand into something far greater than he meant to allow. There was no helping it, Cloud wanted him from the moment he first saw him. And as he came to know him, Cloud loved him. Cloud loved this native man's hair, his presence, his voice, his scent, his body… the nameless creature was the home Cloud had been searching for.

The kiss ended, but Cloud felt himself push closer when the man began to draw away, wanting so much more. There was another gentle brush of their tongues, and Cloud held onto the native desperately as a small moan escaped his throat.

The native ripped his lips away at the sound and breathed hard, his forehead pressing heavily into Cloud's.

"Don't leave…" Cloud murmured. "You can stay. I want you to stay."

He whispered something unknowable against Cloud's forehead, and pressed warm lips there. After a moment he pulled away and was gone.

Cloud stood there in the tent for a long time before moving. People came, and people went in life. This time in particular, someone took a big piece of Cloud with them.

Cloud was in the habit of splitting his meals. That first breakfast without the native was divided into two before Cloud realized that he had nobody to share it with. He was upset enough to throw out the uneaten remainder, but only once. Food was far too valuable to waste, even if his heart was shattered.

He spent his nights alone, staring at the wooden bunny on his nightstand. Sometimes he picked it up to run his fingers along the crevices in the wood, remembering how intensely the native had concentrated on this little art project. After a couple of days Cloud put it away into his bags, unable to look at it any longer.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Autumn was much harsher in the New World than anyone could have expected. Snow blanketed the ground and continued flooding from the sky by the end of October. Even the animals seemed unprepared as they fled into hibernation, but not before raiding the storehouse of the colony's supplies. The tentative crops they had planted were frozen and ruined, there was nothing to hunt, and their backup food supply was a fraction of what it would have been. Everyone began to panic.

More so than for himself, Cloud was filled with dread for the fate of his beautiful native man. He prayed relentlessly that his companion had found someplace warm and safe to spend what was bound to be a long and terrible winter.

Cloud was no stranger to hunger, and knew how to deal with lack. He ate very little, and made even the small scraps of rations he was allotted last twice as long as some of the other colonists. By mid-November there was no food left, and the men were at a complete loss for what to do.

After only a few days without food, a rash of suicides spread through the camp. Cannibalism was a topic that had been publicly debated… but was not acted upon.

Maybe they weren't hungry enough yet, but the colony retained their humanity. And it gave them a greater determination to survive this ordeal. There wasn't anything to eat in the surrounding areas, and they were wasting their energy trying to find something that wasn't there. So they laid out animal traps in hopes that it would do the hunting for them, and remained in their tents to keep warm and conserve their energy.

At least there was plenty of snow to eat, so dehydration wasn't an issue.

Cloud spent his days laying in his cot, and he made all sorts of plans. If he survived the winter, the first order of business would be to search for his beloved native. And when he did, Cloud was going to confess love to him in ways that would far surpass the language barrier. He was going to kiss that man from his head to his feet, and ensure that he wouldn't ever want to leave again.

Then Cloud was going to claim a stake of land and build a house where they could have a life together. He was going to get a dog, and he was going to build a little barn and paint it blue, and he was going to have chickens! Chickens everywhere, and tons of little sweet baby ones that were yellow balls of fluff. The roosters would need to learn how to keep quiet though, because if Cloud survived this winter, he planned to never wake up at dawn again. He was going to sleep in every day, until mid-day if he felt like it.

One particular night as he laid in the dark with his hopes and ambitions, Cloud had taken out the wooden bunny that his beloved native had left behind. It gave his hands something to do, a texture to touch, something tangible to feel and hold onto. It took him to a warm place in his memory, and Cloud found a comfort there instead of a heartache.

Cloud only realized he had fallen asleep when he was being shaken violently awake.

"Let go!" Cloud wheezed, unable to draw breath as the person squeezed him tight. He pushed against whomever was grabbing onto him, instantly becoming dizzy and lightheaded from the sudden movement. "Get off of me!"

Instead of an answer he could understand, the person spoke against his ear in a lovely foreign language.

Cloud froze, his eyes dropping shut as his chest vibrated with the bass of the native's voice, and he inhaled the familiar scent of his skin and hair. A great sense of peace washed over Cloud, and he didn't try to think too much about what was happening. He didn't suspect he'd be dying so soon, but if he was, it was a nice way to go.

The man was quite frantic as he looked Cloud over like an exasperated mother. He held Cloud's face and chattered to him loudly, and Cloud's eyes fluttered closed when he was kissed warmly on both cheeks, his forehead, and finally his mouth.

"I love you, you know…" Cloud told him between kisses, and blushed although he knew the man didn't understand it. It was one thing off of his list, at least.

The native touched something to Cloud's lips, and by his new instinct he attempted to kiss it. But it pushed past his lips and he chewed and swallowed whatever it was. This continued until Cloud realized he was eating something warm, and delicious. It was some sort of clear soup, and the native was soaking it into little bits of bread.

"… Where did you get this?" Cloud asked.

The native spoke to him, his tone very clear, '_Shut up and eat_.'

Cloud sat up and accepted the bread and the bowl. After allowing Cloud to take a few bites, the man took the bowl back from him. Cloud was about to protest, but had a slightly sickened feeling in his stomach from eating too quickly.

"Thank you," Cloud whispered, looking at him up close for any changes during their time apart. He was still the same man, and still had the same wise, stoic patience as he rubbed his warm hand over Cloud's back to soothe him.

He seemed to have something very important to talk about, and was speaking on and on. He was repeating himself a lot, and on the other side of receiving instructions in another language, Cloud was frustrated.

Finally, the native just grabbed his hand and pulled him out of bed. Outside, there was a collection of skins, meat cut and preserved between large leaves, and other food items all neatly packed and stored in makeshift containers. There was even a goddamn horse pulling it all, the kind of which Cloud had never seen before. The horse had on more clothes than the native did, and looked very comfortable in a tribal quilt.

"… You did all this?" Cloud furrowed his eyebrows at the work of ten men.

The man shrugged one shoulder. Due to the stars, he'd anticipated this harsh autumn long ago, but couldn't leave for a hunting haul until he was certain he was at full health. And as often as he tried to suggest to Cloud that they needed to be stockpiling supplies, his fair little beloved English boy just didn't understand what it took to survive here.

He was a little disappointed in this haul due to his late start, but knew it would suffice to at least take care of Bunny's white people until worst had passed. "Ai."

Cloud was stunned. "… I'm sorry that I ever thought that I was smarter than you. I am definitely not."

"Bunny hop," was the gentle response, and the man went about in search of the colony's pit to get a fire going.

The following hours were the happiest that the camp had ever experienced in the New World. They didn't care that the generous stranger was a native, they welcomed him into their colony with open arms as a hero. The abundance of food was a blessing that none of them could thank the native enough for, but would spend the rest of their lives trying.

Cloud didn't think for a moment that the man was settling an obligation because he'd helped him when he was sick. This native warrior didn't owe anything to Cloud, or to the rest of these English people. He was simply a good man.

They made a large breakfast and took a moment to remember the ones that were no longer there to share it with them. Cloud hardly cared about the food, he was just grateful to be sitting next to the man he loved. If his life lasted another day or another hundred years, he could die happily knowing that he was home.

After the fabulous meal, everyone celebrated the promise of life continuing into the spring. All were very interested in the newcomer, and the native seemed pleased to be the center of attention, even teaching the younger girls how to wear feathers in their hair like he did.

The winter day was short, and everyone was quick to retire, content and happy for the first time in weeks. Under the rosy twilight, it was only Cloud and the native who remained by the campfire. He sat closer to Cloud as the fire began to die down, and the chill in the frozen air became more apparent.

When the man rested his cheek on top of his head, Cloud became a bit nervous. He'd made a lot of lofty goals for his relationship with this man, but was shy upon facing the reality of it. He was also humbled by the fact that the man was a real life hero… and Cloud had only heard stories of those before.

He wasn't sure if he was worthy. "You know... you don't need to hide in my tent, anymore. You can have a tent to yourself. Not that I mind sharing with you. But the ground is way too cold to sleep on..."

The man's bright green eyes didn't leave his for several moments. He then reached out to take Cloud's hand, and pulled him to his feet and towards the tent they shared. Soon they were inside, away from the world and the native's beautiful taste was on Cloud's tongue again. This time it wasn't overshadowed by the bitterness of a goodbye, or the sweetness of a hello. Cloud was kissing him because it felt good, and it was an entirely new experience for him.

The man kissed Cloud all the way to his cot. It was a bit small for the both of them to lie on together, but the tangle of limbs was comforting and warm. The native immediately reached for Cloud's blankets, and covered them both up over their heads.

Cloud was in a daze as his tongue was being sucked into a series of delicious kisses, and fingers that were still new to buttons were again attempting to undo them. Cloud shuddered as he realized what was about to happen… he'd never done anything like this before, but was more than ready as he let the man pull his shirt off and toss it away.

The man seemed pleased with what he found, running his hands over Cloud's throat and chest. He was talking again. Whatever he was saying sounded so sincere.

"You won't leave again, will you?" Cloud asked, taking the chance to run his hands over the broad, strong musculature of the man's back and arms. He ran his palm over the native's tattoos, feeling a thrill at how at right and natural it felt to lie close to him.

The man didn't reply, and instead pushed Cloud's legs up to pull his trousers off. He slid Cloud's stockings down his legs, kissing every inch of bare skin as it was revealed. Cloud touched the man's silver hair reverently, watching as the native, who seemed to have a sudden distaste for Cloud's clothes, quickly rendered him naked.

It only took moments before the man's leather leggings were discarded. When they were both nude, Cloud instinctively wrapped his legs around the native's waist. He seemed pleased with this, and moved on top of Cloud to press him into the cot.

As always, non-verbal communication was their strength. Cloud's body told the native how badly he wanted him to stay. The native's body promised Cloud that this time, he would.

They made love until exhaustion stole them from each other. When they awoke, they picked up right where they left off. Cloud refused to allow the warrior to leave their cot until he learned his name. And after Cloud discovered what it was, he still refused to let him leave.

And even when Sephiroth, the legendary warrior from the Shin-Ra tribe became fluent in English, he still referred to Cloud Strife as Bunny.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N

1 – I originally wrote this in 2009, and if you want to see some embarrassing old art, there's a link below. I rewrote it this year because it's a cute little story and it should be expanded upon a little bit. It's a fun sort of tradition for me, and it kind of gets me into the Thanksgiving spirit.

Owmyhearteries dot deviantart dot com / art / Thanksgiving-09-144904414


	2. The Trouble With Irish People

A year passed after Cloud found Sephiroth hiding beneath the brush, sick and dying from the English epidemic that had decimated the Native American population to almost nothing. Cloud had nursed Sephiroth back to health in secret, and slowly found himself falling for the beautiful man.

Facing a harsh winter and a hellish famine, the entire camp had been prepared for certain death. But the generous Native came to the rescue, using his knowledge of the area and hunting to gather enough sustenance to rescue the entire colony, but most importantly... Cloud.

They spent the rest of the winter shivering together in that tent, but it was easily the happiest time of Cloud's life. Being in love with Sephiroth meant finding out things he never knew about himself and about the world around him.

Mostly the joys of sodomy.

There wasn't as much time for that in the spring, because there was a lot of work to be done building a place called home - or _tiyata_ as Sephiroth referred to it.

Cloud claimed a small, idyllic piece of land just outside of the colony. There was a clean stream, plenty of fruit trees and nice soil quality. Sephiroth had shown him the native trick of painting honey and oats on the bark of trees to attract wildlife onto their property, and soon it was a thriving place full of deer, rabbits, bees and birds.

Cloud and Sephiroth could stay there as long as they lived, and never want for anything. And as long as Sephiroth was nearby, Cloud wouldn't ever feel any lack.

Plans for construction had been drawn up on their permanent home, which would someday be the house of Cloud's dreams. But he needed money, tools and supplies to make it happen, which would take a little bit of time gathering, and setting up their small farm to generate some funds. He hoped to be able to sleep under a solid roof in three years' time, but in the meantime they resided in a small cabin.

Beyond a front door and a window, there wasn't much to the place. There was the main room which contained their bed, a fireplace, and a table with two chairs that Cloud had very proudly made all by himself. There was a second, smaller room that held their washing basin and bucket, and space for supplies. It was a very simple dwelling, but incredibly comfortable and cool during the days of their first humid, rainy summer together.

Spending the nightly thunder storms in front of a fire with Sephiroth was more romantic than anything he'd ever experienced before. Teaching each other words, playing games, and reveling in the freedom of expressing physical love as loudly as they wanted to... Cloud never wanted that warm, sticky summer to end.

But eventually it faded to autumn, and memories of the previous winter filled Cloud with dread. Oddly, it become unseasonably warm in October as a small heat wave descended on the colony. Cloud figured it was the calm before the frozen storm that winter would bring, and it was nice to have a little extra time to make final preparations.

He had spent the warm morning chopping extra firewood, of which there could never be too much. It was sweaty work, but what they didn't need would be handy to share and trade with their neighbors in the coming months.

Cloud stacked his armload of wood, and then lazily trotted into the cabin for a fresh tin of water. Before he could bring it to his lips, he spilled the entire thing down the front of himself with a gasp.

Sephiroth was standing there completely naked.

Cloud's shock wasn't due to the nudity, as he'd seen Sephiroth's body hundreds of times by now. The shocking part was that Sephiroth was standing in front of the open window, clearly trying to catch a faint breeze with his groin.

"Yah," Sephiroth greeted mildly.

"What are you doing?" Cloud cried, rushing over to close the shutters, but not before peeking around to ensure the entire world hadn't seen his lover in his naked glory. There weren't even any other dwellings for a quarter of a mile, but the possibility was enough to make Cloud red up to his ears.

It wasn't difficult to miss the sight of a towering, naked, utterly gorgeous Native American. Besides that, the colony knew Cloud and Sephiroth lived together, but the finer details of their relationship were totally secret.

Homosexuality was a grave sin. Cloud had experienced such a sharp lack of love in his life that he gladly embraced a lifestyle of sodomy, although he'd never even considered it before kissing Sephiroth for the first time. Sephiroth had become everything to him, and he wasn't going to let anything happen to him in this life, especially not a public execution.

Cloud had no way of knowing that homosexuality was embraced in Sephiroth's culture as a natural form of love. Sephiroth would have the words to tell him someday and calm his fears, but not for a couple of years.

Until then, Cloud would be convinced that they were Hell bound for the way they felt for each other, let alone the things they did together... but in his heart, it felt like the purest thing in the world. It was still essential to hide it though, as beautiful as it was.

"Get away from the window!" Cloud ordered, shoving Sephiroth aside with his hip as he forced the shutters closed.

"Bunny," Sephiroth complained, elongating the word like an annoyed child as he attempted to pull the shutters back open.

"You have to keep your clothes on, Sephiroth!" Cloud commanded, quickly finding them discarded across the room. He was picking up on Sephiroth's language as quickly as the native was learning English, and scolded him sharply. "Ohan! Sicha! Pants!"

Sephiroth made a hissing sound, glaring down at Cloud. He didn't appreciate being yelled at, and the way Cloud did it was extremely offensive to his ego. There had been a time not too long ago when he would have scalped any man for daring to raise their voice to him. Warriors of the Shin-Ra people were never spoken to that way, especially not by damn white people. But his rosy-cheeked, fair skinned little lover found it natural to order him around, and had bossed him and mothered him from the first moments of their meeting.

His adoration for Cloud made him do things he would never have done for any boy or woman in his tribe. But Sephiroth supposed that most men were reduced to slaves for their lovers, and with wounded pride the great warrior finally conceded. "... Pants."

"Hoppo, Sephiroth. Stockings on first," Cloud knelt down and held out the clothes like he was dressing a toddler. In a lot of ways, Sephiroth was a toddler. He didn't want to wear clothes; he'd had to go through potty training and taking proper baths with soap, not to mention the much longer process of learning the English language. But Sephiroth was a capable, strong warrior whom Cloud loved with all his heart. It was difficult to maintain patience at times, though, because these seemed like things that grown men should just _know_.

The native rolled his eyes and stepped into the thin white leggings, and then obediently stepped into his dreaded English trousers. Cloud blushed again as he buttoned them at the waist... the way they clung to the native's toned body was delicious. Trying to get Sephiroth to keep a shirt on was even harder than the trousers, so Cloud didn't bother... not when it would only hide that sculpted, dark skinned torso.

"Pita mila," Cloud thanked him, coming up from his knees. He put his hands on Sephiroth's waist, rubbing him affectionately. "Feel okay?"

Sephiroth spoke at length, sounding nothing like the spiteful brat he did when he tried to speak English. He motioned to his waist and pulled at the material, then motioned to the air all around them. Finally, after a pause he frowned, "Fire."

Cloud shrugged.

"Fire," Sephiroth repeated, fanning his face and giving a theatrical huff.

"Are you warm, Sephiroth?" Cloud finally asked, clapping his hands in realization. He joined his lover in pantomiming heat exhaustion, and pulled his collar to demonstrate. "Ugh, warm!"

"Warm."

"Good!" Cloud smiled, then praised him in his native tongue, "Ai!"

"Ahan!" Sephiroth grinned back, and victoriously began to take his pants back off.

"No!" Cloud cried with helpless laughter, clasping his hands over Sephiroth's. "Even if it's warm outside, you still have to keep your pants on!"

Sephiroth frowned, tugging at his waistband. The childish tugging made them creep down the taut lines of his hips, even revealing a splash of pretty silver pubic hair. He seemed to notice the shift of Cloud's gaze, and pushed them down until he was completely exposed. "... No?"

Cloud swallowed with a reluctant nod. "Ai, then... no pants. But the shutters stay closed if you insist on going nude!"

Sephiroth was rid of the starchy fabric trousers in moments. Instead of standing by the open window, he laid in their bed with a relieved sigh. He spread himself to the four corners of the feather-filled mattress, shameless in a way that Cloud had never seen in any human being behave before in his life.

With a smile Cloud wiped his forehead on the sleeve of his shirt, and turned to finish to his work outside. But before he could exit the cabin, long arms roped him in against a sweat slick, bare chest.

He turned to Sephiroth in surprise, and squeaked when his fingers began to undo the fastening on his clothes. "What are you up to?"

"No," Sephiroth said softly, and pushed off Cloud's coat and suspenders with determination. He unsnapped the button of his underclothes and bunched them down around his waist. "Warm."

Cloud had to admit that his exposed skin felt heavenly. But going around without a shirt on?... It wasn't really done in the colony. "... Thank you, Sephiroth. But I'm going to keep it on."

"No?" Sephiroth frowned.

"It's proper," Cloud told him helplessly. He didn't know how to explain it in simpler terms. "Proper to wear clothes. Naked... Naked is sicha. Bad."

"No..." Sephiroth shook his head sadly, firmly wiping the sweat off of Cloud's cheeks and forehead, and wiping it onto his own chest. Something about that action was so primal and caring, that Cloud was enchanted. He let Sephiroth close the door and pull him by the hand towards the bed.

Cloud struggled against the coaxing tug, but not very earnestly. "Sephiroth... I have work to do, I can't lie around naked all day with you... as much as I'd like to..."

He sank down onto their mattress, and allowed Sephiroth to pull his boots off. Sephiroth then leaned over the side of the bed, digging around in his hip bag and coming back with a walnut shell that was stuffed with some sort of jelly-like liquid.

Sephiroth spoke kindly to him, and dabbed a bit of the jelly on Cloud's temples, his throat, beneath his nose and on his wrists. It was some sort of strong mint mixture, and it immediately began to cool Cloud's skin. The tiny wet points on his skin felt like melting ice.

Cloud closed his eyes, immediately relaxed and comfortable in the darkness and cool shade of the cabin.

Seeing how well Cloud responded to his mint remedy, Sephiroth then took a little more of the liquid and spread it onto his lips. Cool kisses made their way across Cloud's cheeks and over the bump of his throat. Sephiroth kissed his way down Cloud's stomach, only to replace his cool lips with a hot tongue along the edge of his pants.

Cloud's hips jerked up, and he whined a little. "No... I have work to finish."

Sephiroth whispered between dipping his tongue past the band of Cloud's pants, trying to indicate that he enjoyed the taste of Cloud's sweaty skin, especially at the heavier, bristly texture of his pubic hair. His hands slid up Cloud's thigh, and firmly cupped the crotch of his pants. One tender squeeze was enough to make Cloud's body snap up against Sephiroth's palm.

Cloud stared down, loving the sight of Sephiroth crouched like a tiger between his legs. He spread them even wider, and shivered as the native leaned down over him, pressing himself against Cloud's core. He could clearly feel that Sephiroth was aroused by their closeness, and the shine of dewy sweat clinging to his limbs and chest was nearly enough to make Cloud weep.

But he'd left a mess in front of the cabin, he was nowhere near finished chopping the wood. Anyone passing by would be alarmed, especially if they heard him crying out in pleasure from inside. Only after nightfall were they safe from concerned neighbors. "Sephiroth... Not now. Tonight, later tonight. Please..."

"Love you. Make love you. Have sex you. Inside you..." Sephiroth spoke the disjointed and simple words like seductive poetry, his fine eyebrows lifting as his sharp eyes narrowed. Things concerning this act were his favorite vocabulary words to learn, recite, and commit to memory. "... Fuck you."

Cloud rubbed his eyes with both palms in frustration. Try as he might to teach his lover proper and polite speaking skills, some crass individuals in the colony thought it was funny to have the native parrot lewd phrases. And for whatever reason, the man loved these phrases most of all. "... When I find out who taught you that bloody word..."

"Fuck you," Sephiroth repeated, clearly enjoying the effect it had on Cloud. He pressed his mouth to Cloud's, and then began naming the parts of his lover's body between cool, tender kisses. "Bunny lip... Bunny neck ... Bunny chest ..."

"That's right..." Cloud sighed, arching up slightly.

Sephiroth paused at his nipples, which he could never quite remember the name for. He looked up uncertainly. "Button."

"No... Nipple," Cloud corrected with a blush, and let out a small gasp when Sephiroth gave them both a gentle pull of his teeth.

"Nip-puh," Sephiroth tried, and gave them each another wet flick of his tongue. He continued on his path, his lips finally warming beneath the layer of cool gel. "... Bunny stomach... Bunny hips... Bunny prick."

Cloud sighed loudly, half because Sephiroth's mouth was sucking him through his trousers, and half because he was trying to rinse his vocabulary of that godforsaken word. "Penis, Sephiroth! That's proper!"

"Penis," Sephiroth corrected himself, lapping at it with his tongue while gazing up smugly. "Suck."

Cloud immediately blushed. "That's... that's what you do to it... It's not the name for anything."

"What you do."

"What you do," Cloud confirmed.

"Lick," Sephiroth said softly, sticking his tongue out to roll it against the rigid curve of Cloud's arousal through his pants.

"Ai," Cloud batted his lashes, moving his hips up against Sephiroth's tongue. "... Bite."

Sephiroth responded by nibbling the hardness straining against the black fabric and pulling the starchy cotton away with his teeth to let it snap back. He arched slightly, hovering heavily between Cloud's thighs.

"Yes," Cloud let his head fall back, and his hands began to pull at his pants. He forgot all about propriety, because he was in his own fucking home with his own fucking man and those full, soft lips felt too good to resist. His cock sprang up, eager to be near Sephiroth's wet mouth. "Please..."

"Please..." Sephiroth repeated thoughtfully, and moved to suck the tender flesh of Cloud's exposed upper thigh between his teeth, gnawing it over as Cloud lurched beneath him. Then as suddenly as he'd bitten his thighs, he took Cloud's cock down his hot throat in one pass. He swallowed noisily around it, tugging at the base with tightly sealed lips.

"S-Sephiroth! Mmn!" Cloud reached down and fisted the native's silver hair, pulling hard until he released the flesh with a string of saliva falling against his chin.

Sephiroth nodded with a wolfish smile and he opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by the last sound either of them wanted to hear: a firm, slightly impatient knock on the door.

Cloud was silent for several seconds, staring at his lover in pure disbelief. It was only when the door jiggled that Cloud flew from their bed to ensure that it was bolted. To his immense relief, it was.

"One moment!" Cloud screeched, tucking himself back into his pants and fumbling around to get his shirt back on. He spun around in circles in an attempt to get his arms through the proper holes, and then shoved his feet back into his boots, nearly sobbing with frustration.

Sephiroth sat on the bed, disappointed and dumbfounded. In his culture, if the tent flap was closed, a visitor didn't even bother approaching. This "proper" made Cloud's people act like complete fools; what else would two grown men who lived together be doing with the door closed and locked?

Even if they weren't having sex, they obviously desired privacy. Sephiroth decided to probe Cloud's language that night in search of the best and most direct way to say, _'Piss off'_.

There was yet another gentle knock, and Cloud decided it was too late to make the native presentable. He forced Sephiroth's head down against the pillow and threw their blanket over his body. "Stay! Stay right here! Do not move!"

Sephiroth snatched Cloud's wrist and squeezed, snarling angry words. Apparently man handling a cock blocked native wasn't acceptable boyfriend behavior, but Cloud was too frantic to care.

He silenced Sephiroth's hissing words with a tender, pleasing kiss. "Just lie here! Quiet! Sleep!"

Sephiroth rolled over, thoroughly annoyed. Cloud straightened his clothes again before wasting no more time, and threw open the door. "Hello!"

Outside was one of his neighbors, a very Irish young man named Reno. "Hello, Mr. Strife! Just wandering by and thought I'd pop in! All the shutters are closed and I didn't see you outside, I was hoping you were doing alright."

"We're fine! Totally fine!" Cloud laughed, probably a bit too loudly. "Sephiroth does his hunting and chores at night, so he usually is still sleeping at this time of day! I was trying to give him some peace!"

"Well don't mind me for worrying over you, Mr. Strife. And don't you feel for a moment that you'll be alone this winter! I'm going to keep a path cleared from my house to yours, you and Sephiroth will never be isolated, no sir! I'll do me best to come and visit you two every day!"

Cloud's right eyelid began to twitch involuntarily. "Well... I... uh, thank you?"

Reno popped his head inside the door, and used the greeting that the entire colony had learned to acknowledge Sephiroth with, "Kola, Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth began speaking in a manner that definitely wasn't friendly. He grumpily kicked off most of the quilt, leaving his entire torso and one leg exposed. It was suddenly very obvious that there was only one bed in the cabin, and that Sephiroth took up most of it.

"He's still sleeping," Cloud swallowed nervously, moving to block Reno's view.

"Well I'll see you two later! Enjoy this heat while it lasts!" And with a very subtle glance back at Sephiroth, Reno left.

Cloud quickly closed the door, bolted it, and flew back into bed. He clung to Sephiroth, worry and embarrassment making him clamp his eyes shut. Eventually he sighed, "I guess it's not so bad, having... a friendly neighbor. But if he suspects - "

"Sex?" Sephiroth interjected.

"Suspects," Cloud repeated grimly. "If he suspects us... he might try to do something about it..."

"... Sex," Was all Sephiroth heard as he rolled Cloud over onto his back.

Cloud had to chuckle at his lover's brilliant, but one-track mind. "What's got you like this, Seph?"

Instead of forming an answer, Sephiroth licked the side of Cloud's neck. The truth was that Cloud's scent, his sweat, and the sight of moisture sitting on his sun kissed skin was utterly sensual to the native. The complexion of his own people was very different from that of an Englishman. To Sephiroth, a red blush was provocative; hard work outside and intense sex inside made Cloud appear the same way.

Any discomfort he'd felt at Reno's visit dissipated, and Cloud assisted in shedding his clothes for a second time that afternoon. He was quick to kick his pants off and lift his legs, spreading himself open, showing the native whatever he wanted to see.

Sephiroth didn't hesitate to push a single digit into Cloud. He cried out at the sudden entry, and the sound elongated as Sephiroth's finger moved in deep only to pull back out slowly. Cloud loved watching the intense expression of concentration on Sephiroth's face as his fingers disappeared inside him. The expression lifted into fascination as Cloud began to move his hips slowly, meeting his finger at the deepest point and trying to get more.

Making love in the middle of the day made Cloud feel indulgent, but that was the point. It was so easy to forget about sin and Hell and propriety when Sephiroth was touching him. This beautiful man had saved his life, and Cloud was determined to love him without religious or societal guilt hanging over his head. He'd crossed an ocean to escape that kind of loneliness and find his true home, so he'd enjoy every moment.

Cloud shifted to reach for Sephiroth's cock, which was moist and hard against his thigh. He reached underneath to lift his balls, enjoying the weight of them as he felt his fingers increase speed.

There were a lot of things they could use as lubricant, but Cloud enjoyed what their bodies made naturally. He craned his neck to reach Sephiroth's cock, letting it fill his mouth and press against the back of his throat.

Sephiroth pulled his fingers out and spat into his palm, and slapped it against Cloud's spread open ass before pushing his fingers back in deep. The sharp sting against his most sensitive spot made Cloud's cock jump against his stomach.

Cloud loved sucking Sephiroth's big cock, and enjoying a few more passes with tightened lips before pulling his mouth away. He had a good sense of what his native liked, and slowly turned over onto his stomach and lifted his hips, presenting his ass with a curved arch.

It took a measure of shameless desire that Cloud never knew he possessed before being with Sephiroth. For the love of this man, Cloud would be willing to try pretty much anything. The upside was that he liked it, too. He liked how much Sephiroth wanted him, he liked how freeing it was to bend over and look behind himself to watch his lover mount him like an animal.

Sephiroth's long hair stuck to his damp body, and his strong fingers dug into Cloud's hips as he pulled him into place. He brushed his cock against Cloud's ass, teasing the tight puckered knot of skin, just to watch Cloud's spine arch in ticklishness. His pretty ass tightened up hard before relaxing open, just enough to let the head of Sephiroth's cock push inside.

He laid a hand on Cloud's shoulder, anchoring himself to fuck his lover hard. It was expected by now, but still a shocking sensation to feel a hard, warm cock rubbing against his innermost core. Sephiroth groaned freely against the back of Cloud's head, his mouth closing to press kisses against his blonde, bouncing spikes.

"Talk," Cloud urged, reaching back to run his hands over Sephiroth's thighs. "Talk to me..."

Sephiroth spoke in his own language against Cloud's neck. For this particular occasion, Sephiroth set into a monologue about the first time he masturbated in Cloud's tent in the colony, jerking his cock desperately with a pair of Cloud's dirty stockings pressed against his nose. He'd watched Cloud get dressed every single morning, and it always left him aching to run his mouth over his lithe, fair skinned body.

Sephiroth wasn't sure if Cloud would slap him in the face or be flattered if he knew what he was saying. But the dirty cadence lent itself to the act of making love to the boy of his dreams, and Cloud reveled in being utterly adored by Sephiroth.

They could make this last all day if they wanted, but they both had work to do. And the night would stretch out for twelve lovely hours together in the glow of the lamp.

Cloud was gasping for air as his lover's hips hit the softness of his ass, forcing a hard slapping sound to resonate through their cabin. "Sephiroth! That's... so... good!"

"Ai," He agreed, his hands greedy as they dug across firm, sweaty muscle and wrapped around Cloud's moisture coated erection. Precome was drooling as Sephiroth hit against his ass, and it only took a few strokes of his fist before Cloud was tensing towards release.

"Seph, I'm going..." Cloud told him, holding his ass in place for his lover's cock and trying not to squirm away from the intense pleasure. His lover's gruff breath against his hair, and the sight and feel of his tattooed arm wrapped tight around his chest put Cloud off to the brink.

What pushed them both over the edge was a misfire. Sephiroth pushed in hard before losing balance on one knee, and the sudden stab of pressure at that peculiar angle forced the climax out of Cloud in a strained jet of semen. Sephiroth was jerked along by the reality of his partner's sudden orgasm, and the tight clamp of his ass milked it all from him.

Cloud was giggling against the bed before Sephiroth was done shuddering through his aftershocks, and with a grunt he pulled his sensitive cock out. He joined in with a satisfied chuckle, lying beside Cloud while covering the side of his face in soft kisses.

"That was... nice," Cloud purred, not moving.

"Nice," Sephiroth agreed lazily. "... Nice sex."

Cloud gave an embarrassed giggle. It was wonderful to have a lover so willing to state the obvious. "Yeah, nice sex."

"Nice ass," Sephiroth commented, admiring the way the soft mound of each white asscheek fit into his hand in turn.

"You too," Cloud agreed, lifting his leg to brush his foot over the firm curve that the native possessed.

"Nice leg... nice back... nice penis," Sephiroth ran through every body part he could think of the name for.

"Hey Seph?" Cloud called sleepily.

"Hm?"

"You have a nice prick."

"Aha!" Sephiroth gloated triumphantly. "Bunny not proper!"

"That's becoming more obvious every day," Cloud grinned against his pillow.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The heat wave departed as quickly as it had come.

Sephiroth took it upon himself to seal up their window for the winter, packing mud into any cracks between the wooden planks of their cabin. Initially Cloud didn't like the idea of mud in his home, but the stuff dried to a clean, smooth texture, and actually smelled quite nice.

Their small shed was stuffed with supplies for the winter, and eventually the time came to keep their front door closed unless it was in use.

Cabin fever was never an issue with Cloud. He liked being indoors, bundled up against the cold, especially alongside such a tender lover. Sephiroth seemed to painstakingly ensure that Cloud was always toasty warm whenever he came back in from outside. The cold didn't seem to bother Sephiroth at all.

Outside was a perfect, smooth blanket of knee-high snow... except for the path that their neighbor Reno kept clear to their cabin. Cloud didn't understand where the redhead's concern stemmed from, because Sephiroth had proven himself to be a trusted ally of the entire colony. Unless... the redhead knew something about their secret relationship that he shouldn't.

Or maybe he was just lonely himself. Reno came daily, often with a flask of liquor to share.

He asked a lot of questions about Sephiroth, his language, and his people. Cloud found that having another person around to coach Sephiroth in English was a real help. He even brought them a child's lap-board and some chalk, and began to teach Sephiroth the alphabet, and how to write his name... Cloud felt a little guilty that he hadn't even considered trying to teach Sephiroth actual fundamentals.

Soon, Sephiroth was speaking more clearly than ever, if in a slight Irish accent.

Cloud also liked having a few moments in the day to himself, often leaving Sephiroth in Reno's company to do odd outside chores or to just take a dump in private. Eventually Cloud and Sephiroth looked forward to Reno's visits, finding friendship in the excitable young Irishman.

Things changed in November. Reno's visits were much shorter, and sometimes he'd skip days. Then a day without the redhead turned into several, and Cloud became worried.

"Sephiroth, we should go see Reno today," Cloud said, standing up from the table to clear their breakfast dishes. "Just to check on him."

"Check on him," Sephiroth parroted, having no idea what he was saying but agreeing whole heartedly.

"Walk to Reno's tiyata," Cloud said clearly, then gave a vivid shrug of his shoulders to indicate his uncertainty. "He hasn't come over. I wonder why?"

Sephiroth's eyes took on an intelligent understanding, and he nodded again as he took his time composing his sentence. "Walk to Reno's house."

Cloud leaned down to pinch Sephiroth's cheek tenderly. "I really can't wait to talk with you..."

All Sephiroth understood was Cloud's closeness and the warmth of his smile. He craned his neck to reach Cloud's lips, but the kiss was brief. Cloud pulled away to put the dishes and leftover food away, and Sephiroth dressed himself warmly before snuffing their fire. It was much less of a challenge to get the Native into clothes when there was three feet of snow outside.

They walked hand in hand to Reno's cabin. It wasn't such an odd thing to do in public, considering there were deep patches of snow that sometimes swallowed Cloud's legs up to his knees. Sephiroth easily avoided these spots, but would tighten his grip on Cloud's hand and pull him out, laughing at the ridiculousness of his Bunny.

Reno's cabin seemed undisturbed. There was smoke misting up from his chimney, and there seemed to be light flickering from inside. Cloud let go of Sephiroth's hand and approached slowly, listening for any sign of trouble from within.

After a moment, Cloud knocked patiently. There was movement inside so he took a step back from the door, shrugging up at Sephiroth. The door opened only a crack, and a red faced and very sweaty Reno peered out, "... Oh, Mr. Strife! Hello! I'm very sorry I haven't been over to see you, I've come down with something terrible!"

Cloud frowned. "You could have come to stay with us if you're sick, Reno. We'd be happy to take care of you... is there anything you need?"

"Not at all! I'm fine! It'll clear up on its own, I'm drinking plenty of whisky - !" Reno gulped as another voice came rumbling from within the cabin.

The voice wasn't speaking English.

Before Cloud could react, Sephiroth had shoved his way past Reno and into his home, shouting happily at the top of his lungs.

The scene was awfully familiar: a roaring fire, clothes strewn everywhere, and two naked men, one of which was a beautiful Native. Only this time it was Reno's home, and he was left cowering behind the door, looking humiliated.

Sephiroth heeded no mind to the nudity of the other Native; he was crying out in excitement and hugging him. The other Native seemed to be just as pleased to see Sephiroth, and returned his embrace whole heartedly and chattering back to him.

Cloud was baffled. "... What? Who is...?"

Reno yanked him inside the cabin, slamming the door while quickly covering his groin with his discarded pants. "Sh! Nobody... nobody knows he's here."

"Who is that?" Cloud asked, becoming almost jealous at the way Sephiroth was chatting excitedly with this strange naked man.

"I think he's called Rude... but I'm not sure," Reno confessed. "We... we met each other about a month ago. Just out hunting... I let him stay with me and one thing led to another..."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Well uh... I didn't know how," Reno grimaced and twisted his fingers in shame. "I can't really get Rude to keep any clothes on. And he hates the snow so he won't leave. And we just kind of started this... relationship? I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I'm still a bit overwhelmed."

"It's okay, Reno..." Cloud took a deep breath. "Sephiroth and I are lovers, too."

"I know that," Reno snorted. "Everyone does. You're both really loud when you go at each other."

Cloud blushed, and let his eyes fall to the floor as Reno tried to dress himself without giving him an eyeful. "So... um. It seems like you and your new uh, friend are getting along well. Sephiroth and I were just wondering why you hadn't been over this week. Now it's very apparent, so we'll go - "

"Sephiroth seems to know him, so take him with you! He's driving me crazy! He repeats himself a million times and... I get so fucking frustrated. Seems like fucking is the only time when we know what each other is talking about..." Reno frowned. "But I like the guy... I guess I wish I could communicate with him the way you and Sephiroth can."

"I've been with Sephiroth for almost a year! We have work every day at communication!" Cloud cried. "You have to at least give the man a chance to - "

Cloud was cut off by Sephiroth grabbing his arm and bringing him closer to the still very naked and slightly aroused Rude. Cloud forced himself not to look below the man's chin, but it was extremely difficult. Especially when he was so stoic, serious and handsome from the neck up. Not letting his eyes have a peek down was a hard workout in self-control.

Sephiroth then took Cloud's face in his hands, and gave him a breathless kiss, "Bunny... Rude. My friend."

Cloud was moved by the excitement in Sephiroth's eyes, and knew what he expected of him. Sephiroth had opened the door for hugging in the colony, as it was his greeting when first meeting anyone. As Sephiroth's lover, it would have been rude not to honor naked, half boner Rude with a ... hug.

Before he could become too nervous and English about it, he moved forward to wrap his arms around Rude's waist in a demonstration of good will. After a long pause, he felt the man's large hand rub his back, and a sharp chin press against the top of his head. And although he could feel Rude's cock pressed against his stomach, it was a rather nice feeling to meet someone from Sephiroth's culture as a friend, and not as an invader.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"It's going to be snowing tonight. Bunny gets cold," Sephiroth commented. He was getting better at stringing together sentences, and practiced by commenting on everything as he saw it. His child-like observations were simple, but there was constant improvement.

"I'm fine Seph," Cloud gripped Sephiroth's arm tighter with his free hand. "We'll be there soon. You can kiss me and warm me up."

"Kiss," Sephiroth leaned down and bumped his lips into Cloud's. He opened his mouth and treated Cloud to a luxurious taste of wet warmth in the middle of the still, frozen forest.

Cloud smiled up at him, "My rolls are getting cold."

"Rolls cold?" Sephiroth wondered, bending his knee so that it pressed against Cloud's groin.

"Rolls! Not balls... never mind, just come on."

Reno and Rude's cabin was covered in snow and would have blended in with the late afternoon background seamlessly if it weren't for the crack of light around the edge of their door. Cloud let himself in, and dropped the load he was carrying on the table with a relieved sigh.

Reno was stirring a pot of blackberry sauce on the fire, and Rude was peeling potatoes. Sephiroth had brought over a very large turkey he'd caught a few nights prior, and Cloud had the bundle of yeast rolls he'd made, which were still warm even after their trek through the snow.

There was no real occasion for the feast. But it was almost winter, the days were short and the nights felt endless. With nothing else to do but travel to each other's small dwellings, a party seemed well in order.

Besides, Reno had a stockpile of booze behind the cabin and luckily for all of them, alcohol didn't freeze.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N

1 – I wrote this one in 2011, and decided it could use a nasty sex scene in the updated version. For some not-quite-as-embarrassing old art, there's a link below.

Owmyhearteries dot deviantart dot com / art / HappyThanksgiving-2011-270630795


	3. The Trouble With White People

Cloud's third winter in the New World didn't seem as cold as the first two.

Maybe he was getting used to the weather patterns. During the hot, sunny summer, he often found himself shirking off the responsibility of his chores to simply lie in the grass and look up at passing clouds in the sky. On crisp fall days, the sky was still a brilliant blue and the clouds were like cream, swirling around before dissipating.

Cloud had been given his birth name by a nun at the Strife orphanage where he'd been abandoned as a newborn. It had been raining that day, like most days in England, and they thought it was a fitting motif for a melancholy life.

Cloud never really appreciated that whimsical touch. Something like John, or William, or Thomas would have been much more suitable. Sephiroth loved Cloud's name, although he would always prefer to call him Bunny. But the name _Cloud_ made perfect sense to the native, who seemed to fall in love all over again once realizing that his lover was named for the white, puffy things in the sky.

The language barrier was crumbling, and they could understand each other better every day. It was bittersweet, because they could have arguments now.

Two days prior, Sephiroth seemed to be frustrated about something, and was trying to communicate what that something was in his limited vocabulary. He often began sentences in English, and then went rambling off into his own language, expecting Cloud to be able to follow.

Cloud loved Sephiroth, but he wasn't a mind reader. After several attempts of stopping and starting, Cloud had finally lost his patience and said something he'd immediately regretted. "Will you just leave me alone for a while?"

And for two entire days, Sephiroth had.

It was hard being angry with someone when you were stuck in a small space with them. Especially during a winter in the wilderness, where the window was packed shut with mud and the door remained closed. Cloud considered bundling up and going outside, perhaps just to lie in the snow and watch the clouds, or to pay Reno and Rude a visit.

But he lacked the will, and simply doodled listlessly on their lapboard with a small piece of chalk.

... He was also a tiny bit afraid that if he left, he might come home to an empty cabin. Sephiroth didn't stay here because he had to. He could easily care for himself in the worst weather conditions without even trying very hard. If anything, he stayed to help care for Cloud, who was often clueless about survival in the New World.

Cloud finally he turned his head and glanced over at Sephiroth, who was carefully peeling maize on the other side of the room.

Sephiroth felt the weight of Cloud's eyes, and looked up.

"... I didn't mean for you to leave me alone for quite this long," Cloud said to him with a smile. It faded when Sephiroth still said nothing. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I'm sorry, Sephiroth. I want to understand whatever you have to say. I get angry when I can't. Do you understand?"

Sephiroth nodded somberly.

Cloud searched for something in what he knew of Sephiroth's vocabulary. There was a tiny thing Sephiroth often said when he made a mistake, and it was all Cloud knew as far as an apology went, so he made the attempt. "... Waslolye hemeca."

Sephiroth erupted in sudden laughter. That was not an apology; Cloud was calling himself a jackass in extremely crude teenage slang.

It had the desired effect though, and Cloud reacted to that laughter by flying off his perch by the closed window and throwing his arms around Sephiroth's neck. They met each other in a grinning kiss, and after two days of silence and ignoring one another, they took their time savoring it.

Sephiroth abandoned his task and emptied his hands, only to fill them again with Cloud's ass as he tugged him into his lap. Cloud eventually pulled away and laid his head against Sephiroth's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Also I'm sorry," Sephiroth told him. "You are important person to me, Bunny. I'm needing to tell you something, I do not know how to English."

Cloud closed his eyes and sighed, unimaginably relieved to finally hear the sound of Sephiroth's deep, rumbling voice. "Just take it slow. We'll figure it out."

"Tell you please..." Sephiroth began, and stopped. He was searching for words. "Tell you..."

"Draw me a picture, perhaps?" Cloud offered, quickly crossing the room to retrieve their lap-board and chalk.

It was a little bit futile since Sephiroth's background had given him a very different symbol system than Cloud's. They'd spent an entire day arguing about how to properly draw stars, so any concept more abstract would take some serious effort.

But it was worth the effort, and they had the time. For days, Sephiroth and Cloud worked together on the message Sephiroth was trying to convey to him. They went over new types of words in clusters - flowers, animals, places, objects. They reviewed, and Cloud thought up several more vocabulary groups that might clue Sephiroth onto the right path.

But no matter how hard they tried, nothing contained any of the new information Sephiroth needed to convey his message.

Reno and Rude dropped by, which only added to the confusion. Sephiroth was able to tell Rude what he was trying to say, and two frustrated natives trying to figure out how to deliver a message in English wasn't getting them any closer to understanding one another.

Rude was far behind Sephiroth in his mastery of English, and knew mostly swear words, thanks to Reno. When he spoke to Sephiroth in their language, his speech was littered with the word 'fuck'. He was giving Sephiroth ideas though, and it translated into scribbled drawings on their lapboard. Every so often they acted as though there was a breakthrough, and would draw something like two small circles engulfed by squiggly lines as though it was the key to the language barrier.

Cloud and Reno were both completely clueless.

Much to Sephiroth and Cloud's mutual frustration, they decided to put the message on the back burner. Someday Sephiroth would find the words he was looking for, and when that day came, Cloud would drop everything in the world to hear his message.

Fall began to darken into something a little more crisp and frosty. Despite the drop in temperature, Cloud was getting a bit antsy staying inside. "Would you like to go for a walk into town with me?"

"For what? To buy? What you want?" Sephiroth questioned like a frugal spouse. He didn't like the concept of money, and always offered to find or make whatever Cloud needed.

"No, just to walk. It'll be nice," Cloud smiled, leaning over Sephiroth's shoulder to kiss his ear and whisper, "... Afterwards, we can come home and cuddle."

Sephiroth's eyebrows rose slightly at the word 'cuddle', because that often led to more of his favorite indoor activities. He agreed to the walk, and even let Cloud dress him as he saw fit. Sephiroth could hunt a bear in this weather without shoes, but Cloud had an obsession with putting clothes on him, so he allowed himself to be bundled up.

Once outside, they headed in the direction of the growing nearby town. It was a far cry from a colony on the brink of starvation it had been two years prior. It seemed like more people were arriving in the New World every single day.

There were cobblestone roads being laid out, several rows of buildings where business and commerce were conducted, and even a small series of streetlamps. It was hardly London, but Cloud could see that someday it might be even greater.

In the crudely designed town square, children were slipping around on a small area of frozen water. They screamed and played, threw snowballs and ran about while their families looked on. They'd spread out blankets and some were having picnics around a small bonfire. Sephiroth was something of a local hero, and one of the survivors of the first winter flagged him and Cloud down, and gave them a sack of roasted chestnuts. Sephiroth accepted it gratefully.

They found a small, dry area on the ground and took seats side by side. Cloud kicked a little snow in Sephiroth's direction, who retaliated by sprinkling a dusting of frost in Cloud's hair. Laughing, they settled down to watch the young ones play, and to eat their chestnuts while they were still hot.

"How you say what they do?" Sephiroth asked, pointing to the group of kids.

"They're playing," Cloud answered, cracking one of the chestnuts with his teeth.

"Playing?" Sephiroth questioned, raising an eyebrow as he took a chestnut for himself.

Cloud used that word to describe sexual play, and quickly shook his head before Sephiroth said something embarrassing, "No, not the way we play. We play like adults. Children play games together."

"Children," Sephiroth thought aloud.

Age groups weren't a vocabulary topic they had gone over yet. Cloud pantomimed holding an infant. "Baby..." He then set the invisible child on its feet, and pointed to the group of youngsters playing, "Children..." he then motioned to himself and Sephiroth. "Adults."

Sephiroth pointed to the other couples on blankets. "That is adults?"

"Right."

"They are in love like us?"

"Well... I imagine they are if they're married. They're husband and wife," Cloud answered, leaning over to draw figures in the snow. "There is a husband and wife - adults - who get married to each other and make babies. That's a family. Babies grow to become children, then adults, who get married and make new families. Do you see?"

"Children for marrieds."

"No, Sephiroth. Listen: A husband and a wife get married to each other. They are adults, and they have sex... and then they make a baby."

"Husband-and-wife," Sephiroth parroted.

"A man and a woman," Cloud clarified, pointing to the two larger figures in the snow. "They get married, become husband and wife, and make a family."

Sephiroth grabbed Cloud's face suddenly, dangerously close to touching his lips. "I tell you message?"

"What?" Cloud sputtered, scrambling back a little ways. It was probably no secret to some people what their relationship was about, but he couldn't condone Sephiroth touching him like that in public. "What are you talking about?"

"Husband-and-wife," Sephiroth repeated, so excited that his English was faltering a bit. "My message is this. We need to married, us to be husband-and-wife."

Cloud balked. "Sephiroth... a man and a woman are husband and wife. Not us..."

"What is?"

"What is what?" Cloud asked, rubbing his forehead.

"Us?"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Sephiroth, come on. A man and woman are married."

"Married."

"You know... a ritual. A celebration. A ceremony..." Cloud searched for a word Sephiroth might already know. "Party! Remember the party for little Emily's birthday, and you made feathers for her hair?"

"Married is party," Sephiroth assumed.

"Yes! A party with a man and a woman."

Sephiroth nodded eagerly. "Bunny and Sephiroth married party."

"We can't do that!" Cloud cried. "Unacceptable! Not proper!"

If there was one word Sephiroth hated in English it was 'proper', because 'proper' never made any sense to him at all. "Why?"

"I am not a woman," Cloud whispered, hoping nobody was listening to this humiliating conversation.

"Become woman?"

Cloud's eyes became two perfect circles. "... Sephiroth. We are men. We can't become women."

"No party to become woman?" Sephiroth wondered, tilting his head.

Cloud grunted. "Do the Shin-Ra have parties to become women?"

"Yes," Sephiroth answered honestly, groping for vocabulary to express himself. "Is party, woman is gather, woman is make home, take care of baby, will not hunt. You make home, you will not hunt. I hunt for you, I am your man. So we become married, husband-and-wife."

"... Let me make something very clear to you," Cloud said slowly. "A woman is more than someone who doesn't hunt. A woman is... is..."

"Is what?"

"A woman has a... women make babies in their stomach, right?" Cloud asked, patting his torso.

"Not all woman do baby. Is sometimes old. Sometimes sick. Sometimes does not want."

"You understand that I have a penis, don't you? That means I'm a man!"

"Penis is man?"

"Yes!" Cloud shouted, earning a few stared from people nearby.

Sephiroth shook his head as if Cloud was a fool. "Penis is not man! Man is hunt, man is warrior, man is adult. I am man. You - Bunny - no party, no hunt, not man."

"I was in the navy for seven years!" Cloud hissed. "That's an English warrior, I'll have you know!"

Sephiroth frowned upon thinking of the harsh life Cloud had described to him, where his only payment was enough food to survive and perhaps a place on the floor inside to sleep when the seas were rough. That awful adolescence only increased Sephiroth's desire to take care of Cloud. "Sailor is not warrior... sailor is slave."

"I was not a slave!" Cloud sputtered. It was not a comfortable life, but it was better than rotting in the slums. He escaped for the New World the moment he could manage it, and his life was beautiful now. Mostly thanks to the man sitting beside him.

"Do you love me?"

The question came out of nowhere, and Cloud struggled with the answer. "Well... yes. Of course I love you."

Sephiroth shrugged at him. "I hunt for you, I am your warrior. Take care of you, so you can make home and be my woman."

Cloud's jaw dropped. "I... I built that cabin with my bare hands while you were sleeping all day and out chasing foxes all night! And now I'm building a house for you! And you have the nerve to call me a woman?"

Sephiroth nodded nonchalantly, because to him this was not an insult. "Woman makes home, man hunts. To Shin-Ra, is proper for we to be married, husband-and-wife. To Shin-Ra, you are my woman."

"To English, you are my filthy savage!" Cloud backfired.

"What is filthy savage?"

"Forget about it," Cloud grumbled, dropping his cheek to his knees in fatigue of this conversation. "I don't care what you think about the validity of my manhood, Sir. You are in this colony now, and we are men. Men don't get married. That is all I'm going to say about this."

Sephiroth had been taught about the taboo of men's love in Cloud's society. But he didn't understand how it affected the concept of being married, which to his people was simply a statement of partnership between two lovers who intended to remain monogamous. There was a celebration involved in that union, and while it was less common for it to be two men or two women, it was not treated any differently. The Shin-Ra tribe was ready to feast for any reason, they would not discriminate against something as trivial as the sexes of the two people throwing the celebration.

Men in Sephiroth's tribe were the hunters, the elders, the leaders, the alpha protectors of the group. Females or males could obtain this status. Likewise, if a male was smaller, sick, or simply less inclined to lead or hunt, they took on a woman's duties and kept a woman's status.

He couldn't begin to tell Cloud this in English, and felt confused by his refusal. He loved Cloud... Cloud obviously loved him back. Why wouldn't he even entertain the idea of being united?

"Cloud," Sephiroth murmured. "Strife."

The soft tone drew Cloud's face up out of his knees. "… Yes?"

"Love is secret. Cannot also married is secret?"

"Out of the question," Cloud hissed.

"Never will you become married... or never with _me_?" Sephiroth asked cautiously, quite afraid of the answer. A rejection like this could only mean Cloud saw him as unfit, or perhaps he had his heart set on somebody else.

Cloud wasn't sure how to respond in a way that his lover might understand, and came up empty for a suitable response. This was a serious question that deserved an honest answer, and Cloud pouted when he arrived at the truth. "I would love to marry you."

Sephiroth sat up straight with a broad smile, trying to appear even larger in size, "I will be good man for you!"

"Shh!" Cloud shushed him, his eyes darting around to ensure nobody was hearing this blasphemy. "Sephiroth, we aren't getting married. It just doesn't work that way!"

"... In English," Sephiroth thought aloud. "Married in Shin-Ra would be better."

"What?"

"English is proper, you are English. I am not, I am Shin-Ra... is not proper to English, but would make me so happy to be married for you. Is a secret to love me, will be secret to be husband-and-wife. Would you not put your mind on this?"

Cloud let that sink in, and couldn't keep the bemused and smitten grin off his face. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that someday a man would be asking to marry him in the most broken dialect he'd ever heard. But it was happening, and Cloud couldn't imagine a life without his Shin-Ra warrior.

"What would you do if I said no?" Cloud asked him.

"Ai…" Sephiroth mumbled softly. "I stay, I love you. If don't married, I will still be your man."

Cloud snickered. "... And I suppose that makes me your woman?"

"Beautiful," Sephiroth purred.

"Stop it," Cloud moaned, a giggle escaping despite his efforts to stifle it.

"You..." Sephiroth began, brushing his fingers through the snow to touch Cloud's. He'd never courted a Shin-Ra woman, but knew that pretty poetry often melted a resistant girl's heart. He did his best to compose something lovely that Cloud might understand. "... Warrior becomes slave to beautiful woman. Bunny is most beautiful English sailor... beautiful hairs to smell, beautiful face to touch, beautiful lip to kiss, beautiful eye to look, beautiful penis to su - "

"Seph, shh!" Cloud's face felt bright and hot, and he pulled his fingers away before anyone saw. But he couldn't help feeling a bit light headed at the flattery. "... This is the most stupid conversation we've ever had."

"But yes?" Sephiroth pleaded.

"Seph..."

"Please?"

Cloud smirked, recalling the charming phrase that Sephiroth had come up with. "Let me put my mind on this, Sephiroth. Alright?"

"Ai," Sephiroth smiled.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next morning, Cloud woke up to a heavenly aroma. He rolled over, and found Sephiroth by the fire and stirring something in the largest kettle they had. He was wearing one of his feather headdresses, and it always made him appear somewhat dangerous, like a wild animal had wandered into the cabin. With the warmth, the smell, and the soft sound of the fire crackling, and the small room was transformed into a romantic space.

Although Sephiroth didn't seem mad, he had gently denied Cloud sex the night before. It left Cloud feeling hungry for that touch, and so he sat up on his knees in a deliberately provocative position. "... What are you cooking, Sephiroth?"

"Shin-Ra soup," He answered, and turned around to face him. From the nose up, Sephiroth had painted his face bright red, with stark white accents on his nose and lips.

Cloud screamed in surprise, because he'd never seen Sephiroth painted so vibrantly. Usually he painted in order to blend into the forest, but this was extremely jarring. "Oh! ... Dear... why'd you paint your face like that?"

"Paint face," Sephiroth answered.

Cloud frowned, as sometimes Sephiroth did things like this when he was planning to hunt something big. "... Why did you paint it?"

"Went see Rude and Reno in morning when you sleeping. They are coming later so we can have married party."

Cloud blinked. He supposed from their conversation yesterday that they were considering an immoral engagement... but he didn't expect Sephiroth to be preparing something the very next day. "I said I was putting my mind on it!"

"You said yes."

"When?"

"In dream."

Cloud gave him a doubtful look. "I agreed to marry you in my sleep?"

"No, in my sleep. In my dream, I saw you. You told me you love me, you said yes to married. It was sign; I woke and went to see Rude. He said you and I... have much love, should married. I told him, I never love a woman or man so much as Bunny..." Sephiroth struggled before he found the right words to complete the thought. "Never loved... ever before Bunny."

Cloud looked at the man for several heartbeats. They'd met under the oddest of circumstances, and Cloud supposed their relationship had always had a healthy balance of give and take. They relied on each other for help when it was needed for survival, but that grew into love. Even though Cloud felt foolish because of his upbringing and his own cultural background... it was so nice to be so wanted and desired. Not for what he could do for Sephiroth as a partner, or even in bed, but just a declaration that it was more than that.

It was crazy. It was completely backwards, totally bizarre, utterly improper. But there was no alternative when everything Cloud needed was sitting right across from him in red face paint.

Cloud felt a tear slip down his cheek and over his lips. "You are a stubborn, selfish man. And you always manage to find a way to get what you want."

Sephiroth looked uncertain. "You... do not want it? I will stop if my sign was not true."

"Of course I want to marry you! But you could at least wait for me to say yes out loud, and not in your stupid dream!"

"Say yes?" Sephiroth asked, a brilliant smile lighting his face.

"Yes!"

"Happy?"

"Yes!" Cloud cried, and realized that he was in fact ecstatic.

Before another word could be said, Rude and Reno arrived with a knock on the cabin door. Cloud pulled on a pair of trousers over his leggings, and shrugged into a shirt before answering it with an embarrassed giggle. "Hello!"

"Yah!" Rude greeted him with a huge hug, seeming much more personable and chipper than usual. He was also decked out in warrior's paint, and seemed even larger than usual with the help of his headdress.

Reno followed him in quickly, chugging whiskey from a flask. "Oy! We've been taking swigs to bear the walk, it's cold this mornin'! So I understand you two lads are tyin' the knot!"

"Give me some of that!" Cloud cried, taking the flask and helping himself. "I don't know what we're going to do, it's just somewhat symbolic I suppose."

"It's a darlin' thing," Reno said, setting down what they'd brought on the table. Reno brought some potatoes, which he was curiously prone to peeling and mashing up. The Irish could dream up and cook anything at all with a potato. Rude had also made some traditional Shin-Ra bread, which Cloud loved.

Sephiroth seemed nervous, and was pacing a bit, waiting for some sign from Cloud to begin.

Once Cloud drank enough to relax a little, he mentally prepared himself for whatever Sephiroth and Rude had in mind. He didn't know what to expect, and almost anticipated having to perform intimately in front of them... he hoped the ceremony wouldn't entail that, though.

Rude began by playing a song on a bone flute, and then doing a lot of talking in the Shin-Ra dialect. Cloud had no idea what he was saying, but the look on Sephiroth's face was so rapt, so attentive that he almost looked angelic.

He met Cloud's eyes a few times, looking nearly sick with nerves. It was a sweet change of pace for the normally stoic man.

Rude paused in his speech, and Sephiroth repeated something back to him. Then Rude prompted Cloud to do the repeating. Even though this was not his language, he got the gist from the tone. This was about love, devotion, partnership... Cloud was ready to pledge it all. There was nobody else he wanted.

Rude then asked Reno to cover Cloud in their bed sheet, which was a dark, grayish color. Reno then threw their other dark colored blanket over Sephiroth. Rude then pulled both of the sheets off, before he covered the both of them in a single white sheet, courtesy of his and Reno's bed.

Later, Sephiroth would explain to Cloud that this act was symbolic of any past lovers or premarital sex they'd had. From the two darker sheets to the single white one, they were spiritually cleansed for their first night as a married couple.

But in the heat of the moment, Cloud was ignorant to the significance, and stood giggling with Sephiroth as Rude continued to speak. He couldn't have possibly known that it was what the ritual called for, but Cloud lifted up onto his toes and kissed Sephiroth, simply because he wanted to.

It was odd to Cloud, because he'd kissed those lips at least a hundred thousand times... but that kiss under the sheet was by far the best yet. It was slightly awkward, hard to breathe, and tasted of Sephiroth's chalky makeup, but it was the greatest feeling in the world to know that he was being kissed by someone he was going to be with for the rest of his life. It was better than the day he left the orphanage for the navy, better than setting sail for the New World, better than Sephiroth returning to rescue the camp, better even than their first night in their cabin together.

It didn't matter what the English thought, or the Church, or anyone else. In the eyes of something perhaps even more important, this warrior's lips were his to kiss as long as he lived.

He was a little light headed when Rude pulled the sheet off of them. He stared up at Sephiroth, and a whisper slipped from his lips. "I love you."

"You are mine," was Sephiroth's reply.

The rest was a blur to Cloud. He was spoken to in the Shin-Ra dialect, tapped with some sort of mystic stick, and was prompted to kiss Sephiroth once more. Cloud yanked Sephiroth into a hug, kissing his face and smearing his makeup, and not caring that there were others to see his ardor. "I love you!"

"Love you," Sephiroth answered, meeting Cloud's mouth in kisses.

"... This means you've really got to learn English!" Cloud chuckled.

"Means you learn Shin-Ra," Sephiroth countered, joining in on his lover's laughter. The simple fact that he was able to make a successful joke meant the world to both of them.

Reno seemed bored by all of this. "When are we gonna eat?"

They all shared in their small feast while sipping Reno's whiskey. Loose with alcohol and feeling nostalgic, Reno leaned on his palm. "So how did you two lads meet each other, anyway?"

Although it wasn't exactly a celebratory topic, they couldn't talk about their meeting without talking about the invasion of the English. With patience and a little use of the lap-board, Sephiroth told them a little but about what happened from his tribe's point of view.

Cloud learned a bit more about Rude and Sephiroth's childhood, and about his budding romance with Reno. The conversation was in broken English and meandering, but Cloud felt like he was never closer or more candid with any other group of men in his life. There were no secrets to be kept from a mouthy Irishman and two curious natives.

As night fell, Cloud began to feel hot, and slowly lost the ability to control his affections. He was practically licking the paint off of Sephiroth's face when Reno finally took it upon himself to stand up.

"Well, I think it's time we left you lovebirds to it. You've got a big night ahead of you! Do you need any advice?"

Rude wasn't sure what Reno was saying, but tapped the back of his head anyways. "Polite."

"I'm always polite!" Reno insisted.

"We know what to do," Cloud assured him.

Once goodbyes and congratulations were exchanged and their friends were gone, Cloud pounced on Sephiroth with every bit of the bunny-like enthusiasm that he was nicknamed for. He pulled and yanked at Sephiroth's clothes, completely desperate to touch his bare skin.

"Cloud," Sephiroth muttered, slowed down by buttons. He was constantly ripping them and forcing Cloud to get them repaired, so he made an effort to remove his lover's clothes carefully. However, the moment he felt skin he was ripping and tearing to get them off.

"Make love to me," Cloud pleaded, yanking at the laces to his pants.

"Married does not make love," Sephiroth informed him, scraping teeth over Cloud's lips. "Married fucks."

"Then _fuck_ me."

Sephiroth had never heard Cloud say that word before.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N

1 – This one was written in 2012, and didn't undergo too many changes in the update. But for some reason the art is super embarrassing again lol, what was I doing in 2012?... Oh right, drinking heavily almost every day.

Owmyhearteries dot deviantart dot com / art / Thanksgiving-2012-339764782


	4. The Trouble With Zack

"What is?" Sephiroth pointed to a new building in town.

"Can you try to read the sign?" Cloud asked, gently rubbing the small of Sephiroth's back beneath his coat to encourage him. "Spell it first."

Sephiroth huffed through his nose, and looked around arrogantly to ensure nobody would witness the humiliation of his sounding out English words. He then cleared his throat a bit and said under his breath, "B... U... T... C... N -"

"That's not 'N', dear. Try again."

"... I?"

"Almost!" Cloud tickling his side.

"H."

"Perfect! Keep going!"

"B - U - T - C - H," Sephiroth rolled his eyes dramatically. "E - R."

"Well done, now sound it out."

Sephiroth continued looking up and down the street to ensure they weren't being overheard. "Butt... tch... Buttcheek?"

Cloud covered his mouth with both hands, but managed to say, "There's no 'K' sound!"

Sephiroth shot him a fierce glare. "Butt cheer."

Cloud lost his composure and began to laugh heartily.

"Is not good teaching!" Sephiroth declared, and took several steps away before Cloud grabbed the back of his coat.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! No, it's not... butt cheer." Cloud fought against giggles and rubbed his sore tummy from laughing at his husband's expense. "You were so close, but it's pronounced butch-er. Kind of like... a town's hunter."

Sephiroth's ears perked at that. "Butcher is hunter?"

"That's right. A butcher sells fresh meat in his shop. Men have other jobs to see to, such as smithing and farming and building. So we have a butcher to take care of the meat. You see?"

Sephiroth's lip curled. White boys would do anything to avoid actual man's work, yet still considered themselves above their females, and above the few remaining natives.

Cloud tried his best to sugar coat the situation, but Sephiroth wasn't stupid. He knew that some of the English newcomers were against his presence in the village. The ones who were saved by his small act of heroism were to be lifelong friends, but not everyone was easily impressed by the story. Stories weren't important to English people unless they were their own.

Sephiroth saw it as a good thing that one of them was stepping up to be the man of the village, bringing important nourishment to the rapidly growing white tribe that frankly needed all the help they could get. Sephiroth had never seen a more boring, quiet, pale, sick, anemic bunch of people in his life.

He'd snagged the cutest, sweetest, funniest one by far, and smiled down at his beloved English wife. "Can we greet? I pay respects to fellow hunter."

Cloud hopped in excitement. "Maybe he'll give you a job! Would you like to work in town?"

"For money? Feh! Why? My job is your husband, is nothing more."

"Lower your voice," Cloud blushed frantically.

"Your people are wise enough to know I love you."

"It's polite to pretend they don't know!" Cloud explained.

"No sense..." Sephiroth trailed off as they entered the building.

The shop was simple with only a counter top, a long trough filled with fresh snow and chilled meat sitting atop it, and freshly hunted animals literally hanging from the walls by hooks. Butcher shops were always rather grim affairs, and Cloud kept his eyes lowered for the most part.

Sephiroth gaped openly at the wanton, reckless display of small, mostly juvenile woodland animals. There was shuffling coming from the back of the shop, and the new hunter emerged shirtless, sweaty, and blood splattered.

"Hello, welcome to my shop!" the butcher was out of breath and panting, his ribs and chest rising and falling as he hastily wiped his bloody hands on his apron. "I'm Zack! You chaps want some meat?"

Cloud's eyes were wide with awe at the man's booming personality and... his meat. "Oh, no thank you! We're actually just here to say hello. I'm Cloud Strife, and this is Sephiroth."

"Hello Cloud and Sephiroth! Heard so much about you two!" Zack outstretched his cleanest hand. It wasn't entirely blood-free, but as good as it was going to get without soap.

Cloud shook the offered hand eagerly. Sephiroth looked like he might have rejected the blood stained handshake, but did the proper English thing and accepted it. "How do you do?"

"Wow, you speak English!" Zack stared at the exotic local. "So, what do you think of my shop? Pretty great, huh? Bet you never had anything like this in your Shin-Ra village-thing-whatever!"

Sephiroth frowned at an entire family of small ducks bleeding on a basin full of melting early morning snow. Cloud had drilled it into his brain to not say anything if he didn't have something positive or helpful to say. But he couldn't imagine what kind of hunter would blow apart an entire family of small birds to display like a trophy.

Sephiroth motioned to the tag sitting atop the bucket of ice, as questions were acceptable in proper English society. "What number is mean?"

"That's the price, or the trade value," Zack explained. "The little ones are tasty! You interested in getting some for dinner tonight?"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at Zack. "No. Have pond behind house full of them alive, better that way."

The side of Zack's mouth dropped a bit before he recovered. "Ah, you're a big guy! So you need something big to eat, don't you? Check out these crazy looking foxes! We don't have these back home!"

Sephiroth took in the sight of a row of young foxes, hardly big enough to feed one person and priced to sell by the dozen. "... You're really a hunter?"

Zack raised both arms over his head and arched hard to crack his back. "Not really. I'm more of a breeder, myself."

Cloud choked a bit.

Zack didn't notice, and so he continued, "I work for a famous butcher in London - you may know him! Angeal Hewley - he's the greatest meatsmith that ever lived! He sent me to the colony to establish a shop for him here, and to breed his personal selection of livestock! Awesome, right? We'll actually have some real food next season once the mating commences! Until then we're just selling the native wildlife, and our homemade small items. Bangers, pudding, stuff like that."

Cloud's eyes lit up. "Do you sell black pudding?"

Zack scoffed. "Do we? How much would you like?"

Cloud glanced up at Sephiroth, who looked like a cold, glaring statue towering over the both of them. He could tell that something had set the native off, and that he needed to wrap it up and get him out of here. "Oh, I couldn't possibly! We should be going, it was so nice to meet you - "

"I insist! I just fried some, thinking I would be eating it all by myself!" Zack fetched a pan that was warming in a huge iron oven, and scraped up a piece of cake-like savory pudding. He put it on a piece of parchment and offered it to Cloud. "A free sample, just to give you a taste of home. Would you also like to try some, Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth spoke soft and low in Shin-Ra, something that Cloud understood as, _'Never in a million winters would I eat that stinking bear shit, you son of a bitch.'_

And even though it was a different dialect, the meaning was loud and clear. Cloud was under oath of politeness to accept the sample, and sighed in appreciation as he broke off a piece to try it. It was crispy around the edges and just the way he liked it. "It's perfect. Thank you so much!"

"Do you really like it? It's Angeal's recipe. He makes it much better than I do!"

"You made it lovely!" Cloud genuinely snapped up the tasty treat, and it warmed him from the inside. It reminded him of Christmastime at the orphanage, one of the few spots of cheer in his mostly dreary young life.

Once Cloud's mouth was full, Sephiroth spoke to Zack. "It will be your first winter here?"

Zack nodded happily. "Yes, it will! I've heard all the stories about the great warrior Sephiroth helping out the first couple of years here! If you don't mind me saying so, you're the town hero!"

"He's wonderful," Cloud agreed, glancing up at Sephiroth between small bites of pudding and trying to keep his eyes from fluttering.

Sephiroth ignored the compliment. "This winter will not be so hard for you. Next one... will be very difficult for us all."

"Why's that?" Zack asked in awe, his eyes wide as he listened to the prophecy.

"Because you're hunting our food's fucking food," Sephiroth pointed to the young, small animals piled around the shop.

Zack gulped. "Sir?"

Cloud paused with his mouth full. "Seph..."

"Big ones will have no food, no reason to come here."

Zack waved a hand at the worried native. "This land is so plentiful, this isn't even a fraction of the - "

"Big ones look for..." Sephiroth groped deep into his English vocabulary, trying to make parallels and find the right words to educate some common sense into this spaz. "Bear and deer and big cats look for small ones. Bear and big cat for predator to eat, deer for companion for to be safe alongside. They see less small ones, they go. Land becomes barren. We have no problem yet, but - "

"Fantastic!" Zack was really trying to listen, but disjointed English was incredibly difficult for him to pay attention to. He dismissed the rest of the rambling narrative and paid attention to the very last part. "No problems, then! Everything will be fine!"

Sephiroth said no more.

Cloud polished off the slice of pudding and offered Zack the parchment back. "That was wonderful, thank you very much. I'll definitely come back for more before Christmas."

"People in town have mentioned you do deliveries. I've got some major shipments coming in, would you be interested in helping me transport them?" Zack took a large bite of pudding and spoke with a full mouth. "I'm trying to get most of what I need before the winter. It's nice to have some help! I'll pay you of course, or you can just take what you'd like from the shop."

"Sure!" Cloud nodded. "Mondays are usually the ship days, if you're expecting stuff."

"Come back on Monday, then. If there's no ship, we'll just hang out!"

"Okay!"

"I'll look forward to it!" Zack grinned at both of them. "And Sephiroth, don't worry about a thing. Like I said, I'm not much of a hunter. But once Angeal's livestock do their thing and settle in, nobody will have to hunt anymore! You'll just come get your meat from me."

Cloud nodded with a smile. "That'll be so nice! Hunting takes up so much of Sephiroth's time, you have no idea. And I've been busy doing deliveries and building our - uh, my house."

"Sounds like I showed up right on time! Now you won't have to worry about it," Zack smiled.

Cloud smiled back, trapped in the moment on a wave of positive energy flowing from his new friend. It was blinding, and Cloud found himself incredibly glad to have met him.

He turned to see how Sephiroth had taken the news that his hunting days were over, and was startled to realize that he was gone.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Sephiroth, this is miserable!" Cloud complained. "I wanna go home! There are no deer here!"

"Quiet," He answered sternly. After a moment of glaring at his shivering partner, he put a hand on Cloud's naked shoulder and squeezed. It the closest thing to comfort he would give when he was in this strange, solemn teacher mode.

"Can I put something on, at least?" He rubbed friction over his naked skin, but it wasn't doing much good in the frozen night air. For some reason, all Sephiroth would let him wear were his stockings, which he cut off at the ends and rolled up to the top of his thighs like women's knickers. It might have been a little exciting if he were wearing them in bed, but it was mean and unnecessary in the middle of a night outdoors. Sephiroth called it morning, but it was the middle of the fucking night.

Cloud couldn't even sit comfortably, or his bare legs would be in the snow. "Let me just run back and get my coat."

"No. You left other hunts for coat, you did not come back."

"I'll come back this time, I swear!"

"Cold air helps you learn hunt. Is how I learned when I was a woman."

Cloud was used to Sephiroth referring to younger boys or non-warrior males as women, and had no interest in becoming a man in the tribe's eyes. "Sephiroth... my extremities are numb. I really will be a proper wife if I don't get some pants on!"

"In hunt, pants are for men."

"_In hunt, pants are for men_!" Cloud parroted in a slow, nasally voice. "How do you wear just pants, Sephiroth? How are you not freezing right now?"

Sephiroth was only wearing his leather leggings, and looked perfectly at peace as he crouched in the snow. "I am man. Hunter spirit gives me warmth within."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Cloud bellowed.

A tirade of Shin-Ra speak came from a nearby bush, where Reno and Rude were completely concealed. The two natives had decided together that both of their wives needed to become hunters themselves. Or as good a hunter as two white boys from across the great water could be.

Sephiroth shook his head at Cloud in embarrassment. "He says shut up."

Cloud gave a grim smile. "Here's a thought! You insisted on being married to me, right? So you're the hunter and I'm the wife and I'm happy with it remaining that way! I'm going home!"

And with that, Cloud began to hastily crawl out of their stake-out bush. Sephiroth yanked on the back of Cloud's makeshift knickers and nearly ripped them. "Just sit. Reno and Bunny must learn."

"I know how to shoot!" Cloud complained.

"Shoot. Feh." Sephiroth regarded Cloud's musket as a very noisy toy.

"I hunt squirrels all the time!"

"Squirrels..." Sephiroth made a sour face. "Is not food. Is food for when you're about to starve. Vulture food."

"I'm happy and warm being a vulture!" Cloud said, and began to crawl out of the bush again.

"_Cloud Strife_," Sephiroth called his actual name, which quieted his smaller partner immediately. "You must know how to survive if I'm gone. You don't do so well on your own."

"That was so different, Seph! We didn't know anything about this place back then. It's been four years, and you've taught me everything. If something unfortunate were to happen to you - which it isn't - I don't think I'm going to start hunting giant stags with my bare hands."

"Bear hands?" Sephiroth repeated in confusion.

"Whatever," Cloud sighed. "I don't care about hunting."

Sephiroth lifted his chin. "So when I am gone, go and starve with new man?"

Cloud couldn't deal with the native's jealousy over a fictional man in a hypothetical death situation. But this 'new man' shit had been coming up all the time lately, and Cloud didn't know what else he had to do to make his lover more secure in their partnership.

Cloud took a hold of Sephiroth's face for emphasis, and to warm his fingers, "No... I will not find a new man. I will eat squirrels, and occasionally go to a butcher shop just like everybody else in the civilized world!"

Sephiroth's eyebrows furrowed in true anger. "Butcher is an asshole."

"Zack is so nice!"

"_Zack is so nice_," Sephiroth parroted in a perfect English accent, if a bit high pitched and whiny sounding.

"Shut up!"

"_Shut up_," Sephiroth mimicked again, and then in his own voice added, "That asshole is going to spoil land. You see no deer this morning? Usually they're here. It's already started."

Rude abruptly stood from his hiding bush, and began speaking to Sephiroth with his hands on his hips. Sephiroth threw his arms up and began to yell back at him, and eventually Reno found the will to stand up. He was just as underdressed as Cloud was, and visibly shaking.

Reno rushed over to Cloud and invaded his personal space for a little warmth. "Cl-cl-cloud... can I stay at your place tonight? I can't make it all the way back home."

"Yes," Cloud opened his arms and wrapped them around his freezing friend. "We're leaving!"

The two natives were involved in a heated discussion, and ignored their partners as they escaped onto the trail back to Cloud and Sephiroth's cabin.

"What are they so mad about?" Reno asked, teeth chattering as he unrolled his own stockings for any sort of warmth they might give him.

"I think they expected their bloody wives to be more obedient," Cloud stomped through the snow, dragging the freezing Irish ginger along with him. "I don't understand why this is so important to them, and I don't care. I'm never coming on one of these damn deer hunts ever again."

Reno was never so touchy feely with Cloud, but pressed his face right against his neck for a little more warmth. "The funny thing is, I do know how to use a bow."

"You're an archer?"

"A little. Rude won't hear it, though... only real Shin-Ra men can touch official tribe weapons," Reno chuckled. "He thinks if I touch them, the Earth will swallow me whole."

"They both have strange ideas, don't they?" Cloud was feeling much warmer from the brisk walk and sharing a little conversation. He had a serious question though, and worked hard to phrase it correctly. "Reno... do you ever regret being with Rude?"

"Rude is a challenge. He's never boring, but that's why I love him. I mean, I left home for that very reason... so boring, nothing new to see or do. Ireland is just a bunch of old rocks and grass and rain. And Irish people."

"Doesn't sound too bad," Cloud laughed. "Maybe I should've gone there instead."

"Never thought I'd hear an Englishman say that."

"I wouldn't call myself a proper Englishman; I was invisible orphan scum and then invisible Navy slave scum. I wasn't much better than an Irish person."

Reno let that incredibly racist, insensitive statement simmer in his mind before he responded carefully. "You see me like Irish scum?"

Cloud gave his red hair a rough kiss. "Of course."

Reno would have pinched Cloud for that, but didn't want to be pushed away from his body warmth. "So what are you saying, anyways? You regret marrying Sephiroth?"

Cloud hung his head in shame as he walked. "These years with Sephiroth have been the best of my life. I just wish it wasn't always so damn complicated with him. He bitches about how stupid proper English etiquette is, but then has the nerve to pull this bloody fucking midnight hunt lesson shit."

"You cursed more in that sentence than I ever heard you!" Reno cried merrily.

"I'm tired, I'm starving, I'm cold, I'm naked... and I haven't had sex in a month."

"A month?" Reno gasped.

"Do you mind if I talk to you about this?" Cloud fretted.

"Are you kidding?" Reno hugged him eagerly, eager for frank gossip from the normally tight laced blonde. "Feel free to tell me anything!"

"Sephiroth is... being really distant since this hunter fiasco began..." Cloud made a little sobbing sound, mostly in jest, but a little bit for real. "... He won't even kiss me."

"What do you mean, 'won't'?"

"If I try to get close to him, he finds something else to do. If we're inside for the evening, he leaves. If we're in bed, he turns away..." Cloud lifted his chin and walked a bit faster as he approached the cabin. It led them right past the permanent house he was building, which was very close to becoming livable. It compounded Cloud's sadness to think that once it was finished and they moved in, it would only give Sephiroth more space to escape from him. "I just miss him. I'm afraid this marriage thing has tripped up some sort of Shin-Ra custom I don't know about."

"Well has he been sleeping with you all year?" Reno wondered.

"Yeah..." Cloud's eyelids dropped at the memory of that passionate first night, easily the best sex he'd ever had... because he knew Sephiroth was really his forever. Cloud loved him more for wanting that deep connection, and that possessive energy burned bright all year long, but then it faded into indifference and disappointment all at once. "It's only been recently. I don't know what's happened."

"Tell you what! Loan me your coat and some trousers and I'll make my way home. You work on Sephiroth tonight and get to the bottom of it. Maybe then he'll talk some sense into Rude, and I won't have to come on these damn hunts, either."

"You don't mind?" Cloud smiled.

"Not as long as you tell me everything that happens!" Reno crowed.

When they reached Cloud's cabin they ran to the crackling fire, nearly falling on top of it in their greed for warmth. Once they were somewhat defrosted, Reno bundled in Cloud's clothes for the walk home, and left before he got too comfortable and changed his mind. He took a flask with him to help with the walk, and bid Cloud goodnight.

Cloud was left alone to wait for Sephiroth's return, which was not until dawn.

Awake in bed, Cloud watched him enter quietly. He shed his pants and slid to the farthest edge of the mattress, his movements slow and deliberate in not wanting to wake Cloud.

Cloud waited for Sephiroth to settle in before he gently raised up onto his elbow. "I'm sorry."

Sephiroth turned surprised eyes to him over his shoulder. "Awake."

"I waited for you," Cloud told him.

Sephiroth turned back over and said no more.

The conversation was apparently over, but Cloud scooted closer and wrapped his arms around Sephiroth from behind. When living with someone of an entirely different background, Cloud had learned to be very blunt when asking for what he wanted, especially in bed.

So he brushed the hair off of Sephiroth's neck and began to kiss a trail up to his cheek. "Kiss me."

"Sleep."

"I waited all night for you," Cloud reminded him gently, running his warm hands over Sephiroth's chilled skin. It always took an effort to be blunt, but sometimes he needed to be, so Sephiroth would understand. With a gulp of fear at the prospect of rejection, Cloud pressed his erection up against Sephiroth's back. "You're cold... come here, I'll help you get warmer..."

"You left hunt _again_."

"I don't want to hunt," Cloud said, cuddling that much closer in an effort to warm up both his lover's body and demeanor. "Isn't that why you wanted to get married? Because we each can do what the other can't. We're good at different things."

"I want you to be a man."

"I can learn in time... like perhaps the spring when I won't be freezing to death?" Cloud suggested.

"Spring may be too late."

Cloud rested his forehead against the back of Sephiroth's shoulder. "... Are you leaving?"

"Only when you ask me to."

Cloud then mustered up the nerve to shove the native onto his back. That bit of aggressive contact was more than he'd been getting lately, and Cloud was quick to crawl on top of him to hold him there. "What the hell is the matter with you?"

Sephiroth blinked, his face indifferent and stoic.

"Fucking answer me. Why do you keep talking about me taking care of myself without you?" Cloud wanted to press his lips to Sephiroth's and was close enough to do it. But after weeks without a kiss, he was petty in wanting Sephiroth to give it to him. "Why won't you kiss me? Or touch me? Why haven't we... made love lately?"

Sephiroth's lips thinned into a line, and he refused to answer.

"Please talk to me!" Cloud raised his voice, and that was something Sephiroth refused to put up with. He began to push him off, and it made Cloud hunker down heavier on top of him. "I work to understand you. I always have, right from the beginning. Why won't you do that for me? Do the work and tell me what you're feeling!"

"I don't work for you to understand me? Tell me please... what fucking language am I speaking to you right now?"

Cloud's mouth fell open, and he was speechless for a moment. "W... why that's not fair! I know some Shin-Ra as well!"

"You make me speak English only, meanwhile you forgotten all of the Shin-Ra you learned."

"You are completely mistaken, Sir!"

"Ask me then - in my language - why I don't _fuck_ you lately?" Sephiroth challenged before throwing out a petty, "Sir."

He didn't like to cry, but Cloud was so frustrated that he couldn't stop himself. Hot tears fell down his face as he slid off of Sephiroth and went back to his own side of the bed. Communication was failing them, and it didn't help that Sephiroth was being more stubborn than usual. Moreover... he couldn't have formed that sentence in Sephiroth's language if he tried.

Cloud felt Sephiroth leave the bed, heard him pull his pants back on and exit the cabin.

He wished in that moment that he'd never found Sephiroth hiding under the brush, and that the native could have died his stupid, honorable death for staying on his home turf. And likewise, the camp could have then died their dishonorable death of starving in a land where they gleefully performed a genocide.

Maybe Sephiroth was finally coming down off the high of their little love affair to realize that his people were gone, and a new culture was rising where the old one had been snuffed out. Maybe little Cloud Strife wasn't enough.

Maybe they just didn't belong together.

-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

For the next several days, Sephiroth spent his time outside. The snow wasn't very deep yet, so he busied himself caring for the small amount of livestock that they possessed, doing small repairs on the cabin, and making little odd touches on the nearly finished house.

Cloud was kept busy with his own chores, and did everything he could do avoid another direct confrontation with Sephiroth. They ate together, but in silence. They slept together, but far apart on the bed. It was becoming more awkward by the day.

The anniversary of Sephiroth's heroism in saving the colony was only a week away, and Cloud knew that the native enjoyed that particular celebration. And so Cloud saw it as an opportunity to mend their relationship, and began to carefully craft a special gift for Sephiroth.

During the summer he'd befriended a seamstress in town, who asked him to deliver finished work for her and to pick up her crates when they arrived by ship at the docks. That was really the start of his reputation as a delivery boy. In exchange for Cloud running errands, she showed him the basics of sewing and ordered him some durable leather from back home.

And so Cloud was sewing Sephiroth a new pair of those tight leather leggings that he loved to wear, and a long coat to go with them... not as though he'd ever choose to put it on around home, but he needed to wear something in town. The sight of his naked, muscular torso was really distracting among a sea of laced up Englishmen.

Cloud had originally intended to give it to Sephiroth for Christmas, but there was damage control to be done as soon as possible. He wanted this fight over with. He missed his husband.

Besides, Sephiroth was still wearing the clothes that Cloud had found him in four years prior. He could convince Sephiroth to wear English clothes most of the time, but the native just wasn't comfortable in blended fabrics. It was much more fun taking Sephiroth out of stockings and trousers than it was forcing him to put them on.

Cloud wasn't the greatest at sewing, but the project was a wonderful distraction from the strain in their relationship... and discreetly getting Sephiroth's measurements was a fun challenge in and of itself. He was stuck though, because for some reason a seam in the pants hadn't turned out quite right. He wanted to show it to the seamstress and get some help, but also didn't want Sephiroth to see his gift.

Cloud knew the native wouldn't want him going into town alone, so he got dressed and hid the pants in a knapsack before going outside to find him. He discovered Sephiroth in their small barn, sitting on a bale of hay with their sow's piglets.

The pigs were periodically brought by ship from England, and Sephiroth had never seen one before, nor knew why they were so coveted by the colonists. But at Cloud's insistence they brought three home, and immediately slaughtered one. Sephiroth was extremely surprised at just how fucking good they tasted. And then when the other two multiplied, Sephiroth was once again surprised by just how fucking _adorable_ the babies were.

Sephiroth had never claimed ownership over an animal before, and had rarely seen baby animals in the wild, let alone gotten the chance to interact with one. There was never any practical reason for a hunter to care about an animal's young, because getting near them always caused trouble. It was a new thing for Sephiroth, who'd spent so much of his life studying and understanding animal behavior in order to kill them.

Cloud had a feeling these little pigs weren't getting anywhere near their breakfast plates. He smiled as he watched the great care Sephiroth displayed as he allowed the piglets to walk across his feet in puppy-like excitement. Sephiroth picked one up with a smile, and let its' wiggly little nose sniff his cheek.

The sight of his handsome lover so affectionate with the baby animal made Cloud's heart flutter a bit, and he forgot about their fight. He approached the mama pig's indoor pen with a smile. "They're getting bigger, aren't they?"

"... Ai," Sephiroth answered without looking up at him.

Cloud swallowed uneasily at the chilly reception, and gently leaned on the gate. "Do you mind walking me into town?"

Sephiroth agreed with a sigh through his nose. "Again buying things?"

"No."

"Again seeing the butcher?"

"No…" Cloud mentally groping for an excuse. "I need some... stockings. These are my last pair, you cut up the other ones. Just a quick trip to the seamstress, you won't even have to come inside. And I'm not using any money, I'll make more deliveries for her soon."

Sephiroth nodded in approval. He gently set the baby pig on the ground, and brushed his hands on his worn leather pants.

Cloud couldn't resist. "Looks like you're wearing those out. You may need new ones."

Sephiroth pressed his hands against them defensively. "Fine. Not ripped."

"You've been wearing them since I _met _you. Won't you think about getting something new?"

"My mother made."

"... Oh," Cloud sighed softly. For having worn them for years, they were still completely wearable and had always hugged his partner's long legs beautifully. "They're lovely, Sephiroth. I just think something new might be nice?"

"Suppose?" Sephiroth considered without a smile as he shuffled around the rest of the squirmy baby pigs to step over the gate.

Cloud smiled brightly, trying his best to rouse his lover's spirits just a little. "Well, let's be off! It'll be fun!"

It wasn't. They walked together to town in silence, only making small comments to one another. Usually on a walk so long, Sephiroth would hold his hand, maybe tell him stories of his time as a child in these woods... but now he didn't. Cloud's entire arm burned with the desire to reach out for him, but the effort seemed completely unwelcome.

When they reached town, Cloud was genuinely happy to see other people. Sephiroth was too, for he had also formed a little social group with the elders in town who seemed to appreciate his old fashioned soul - even if he was only in his early twenties and was from an entirely different background. They liked to smoke and drink and play cards with Sephiroth, and tell him fascinating stories about sailing on the high seas, avoiding monsters and mermaids, and boning prostitutes from all ports.

"Going to pub," Sephiroth declared when he spotted his elderly buddies in the tavern window. "Where you going?"

"Just to the seamstress. Maybe then I'll wander around."

"Don't go to butcher."

"I'll say hello to Zack if I see him."

"No!" Sephiroth commanded. "You will not."

"You should have picked a wife who listens to orders, Sir."

Sephiroth turned and went into the pub without as much as a goodbye. Frankly Cloud was happy to be rid of him, and quickly made his way to the seamstress. He asked her for a couple pairs of stockings just to make his trip to town look legit, and then showed her the mistake he'd made on Sephiroth's pants. It only took her a few snips and quick stitches to fix.

"Thanks!" He said, holding them up and admiring what was mostly his own work. They looked like something a Shin-Ra warrior would be proud to wear, and were made just as nicely as the ones Sephiroth's mother had made him.

"Not bad for beginner leather work! But do you think the crotch is too baggy?" The seamstress wondered.

"Um, not according to Sephiroth's... measurements," Cloud averted her eyes as he quickly folded them.

With his tasks complete and the afternoon still young, Cloud considered his options. He wasn't in any hurry to get back to his strangely acting husband, or the confinement of their cabin. He passed by the small trading post nosily seeking out some drama or excitement, but there was none to be found. Same with the tiny grocer and general store, it seemed most people were holed up in their homes and not out browsing.

Cloud smiled when he spotted a recently made friend in the butcher shop. Animals on this side just tasted... different, and Cloud was glad that Zack would be selling meat from home soon. Sometimes it was nice to eat something nostalgic and familiar. Spending time with Zack was always fun, even when they were lugging heavy crates from the shore.

"Hello!" Cloud called, stepping into the shop and avoiding touching anything or looking anywhere. Hanging dead animals weren't among Cloud's favorite things - he could handle skinning them in small doses but it was clearly Sephiroth's department.

"Hello Cloud!" Zack greeted cheerfully as a loud cracking of bones echoed through the small room. He then held up a woodchuck whose head was hanging at a morbid angle. "Cute, huh? We don't have these back home!"

Cloud shielded his eyes. "They're way cuter alive and in the forest."

"Just you wait, I'm about to stuff this little guy and he'll look adorable! Guess what? I got commissioned by the Queen to send back examples of New World fauna! I'm going to be famous!"

Cloud gasped, "When did this happen?"

"I got the news just yesterday! Did you know I'm also a top notch taxidermist?"

"Gross!" Cloud laughed. "Don't you think the Queen might prefer to see the animals alive?"

Zack shrugged. "They'd wind up dead or eaten on the journey. Might as well make them easier to ship. Plus less poop on the boats!"

"Quite right..." Cloud grimaced as he recalled the ship ride over the ocean, and the freely flowing bodily fluids from civilian passengers who weren't used to the sea. He couldn't imagine having to take care of livestock on such a journey.

"What brings you in today?" Zack asked, continuing his work of breaking up the bones in the little woodchuck's body. "You hungry? I'll wash the woodchuck off my hands and make us some tea."

"No, thank you. I finished an errand and now I'm just wandering about," Cloud answered, reaching up to gently stroke a dead turkey's huge, splayed out plumage. "Sephiroth's with the old men in the pub."

"Oh! I've been meaning to ask you about Sephiroth!" Zack cried, waving the dead woodchuck around in excitement. "I've been thinking a lot about him this morning!"

Cloud's eyes went wide, and he dreaded whatever Zack was about to ask. "Oh? What about him?"

"Do you think he'd mind taking me around the forest sometime on a hunting trip? I'm sure there are tons of animals I haven't seen yet that he knows about!"

Cloud threw his hands up. "Absolutely! He loves dragging people along on hunting trips! As long as you don't mind going in the middle of the night."

Zack lit up with excitement. "Perfect! I'd like to go as soon as possible, I don't want to keep the Queen waiting!"

"I'm not sure the Queen is going to be as excited as you think about opening up a big crate of dead animals," Cloud winced.

"They're not dead!" Zack frowned, considering his little woodchuck project. "They're immortalized! Here, give it a kiss!"

"You're disgusting!" Cloud screeched.

"Kiss it!" Zack reached over the counter to torment Cloud with the woodland creature.

"Get away from me!"

Zack tossed the woodchuck aside, and grabbed Cloud into a headlock. Cloud managed to worm out of it, laughing as Zack picked him up off his feet from behind.

"I'm going to stuff you and send you to the Queen, too!" Zack threatened, scooping Cloud up into his arms. "Oh! Hi, Sephiroth!"

Cloud opened his eyes to find his lover standing only a few inches away. "Hey, Seph! Check out this - "

Cloud was taken from Zack's arms and set on his feet. In the same breath, there was a knife at Zack's throat.

Nobody moved or said anything for several long moments. There was still a smile on the butcher's face, but his eyes were large and looking up at the towering native with raw fear.

Zack finally swallowed against the blade. "... What's happening?"

Cloud very slowly reached out to touch Sephiroth's arm. "... Seph, put the knife down."

He began to growl very softly to Zack in the Shin-Ra language. Cloud could pick up most of what he was saying, and suddenly it all became very clear to him... the hunting, the "other man", everything. It was jealousy. Sephiroth saw Zack as a threat to more than the ecosystem. Sephiroth saw Zack as a romantic rival, which was ludicrous.

Sephiroth continued his diatribe against Zack's profession, his heritage, his face, and his intentions towards his wife. Cloud listened intently, letting him finish saying whatever he needed to say.

"Wh… what did he just say?" Zack croaked.

Cloud couldn't help but bite back a broad smile. "He said... that he really respects you as a fellow hunter."

"Are you sure that's what he said?" Zack asked, his voice tight and high pitched with fear.

"Zack, can I tell you a secret? I'd really prefer it not get out... for obvious reasons. It has to do with Sephiroth and me."

There was still a knife pressed against his throat, which made Zack very agreeable. "Yeah sure, whatever."

"Sephiroth?" Cloud called, tugging on his arm. "Come here..."

"You cannot choose this man if he's dead."

Zack's voice broke, "What?!"

"I already chose you," Cloud said to Sephiroth. "Come here."

Coming back down from the manic emotional rage of seeing Zack's hands on Cloud, Sephiroth finally turned to him. Cloud didn't say anything, he just pulled Sephiroth down into a kiss.

It was the only time they'd ever done it in front of another person that wasn't Rude or Reno, and Sephiroth was shocked. He dropped his knife and possessively pulled Cloud up into his arms, fully prepared to mate right then and there to display his territory over Cloud's body and heart.

Cloud cut that short, however. Blushing fiercely, he pulled away and turned watering eyes to Zack. "Sephiroth and I are married."

Zack's face was blank. "… Okay."

Cloud knew it sounded ridiculous, but Sephiroth needed to hear all of this be said clearly. "And I would like to be your friend, and nothing more because I love my husband. Okay?"

"Of course," Zack looked all around the shop, completely confused.

"Friends," Cloud said, running his hands up and down Sephiroth's sides as he stared up at him. "Okay?"

"Like Reno," Sephiroth confirmed.

"Just like that," Cloud promised, and then lowered his voice to speak only to him. "... Did you really think I wanted someone else?"

Sephiroth picked up his knife and narrowed his eyes at Zack. "He smiles too much. Not proper to smile at another man's wife. And not proper for wife to smile so much at other man."

"He's just friendly," Cloud chided, utterly embarrassed by this entire conversation, and grateful no other customers had come into the shop to witness the damage control of a jealous native. "And now that he knows I'm your _wife_... he'll remain proper. Isn't that right, Zack?"

"Totally," Zack agreed with an unsure expression, his eyes wide and on the handle of Sephiroth's sizable knife. "I mean... wow. Your wife. Who knew?"

Cloud made a whining noise, "I can explain later - "

"No explanation needed!" Zack cried. "I know what a wife is. I've got one, too! Sephiroth, I'm married to this great girl back home called Aerith."

"We talk about Aerith all the time on our delivery runs," Cloud told Sephiroth, rubbing his tense back. "She's coming here in the spring."

"She's beautiful!" Zack gushed. "I didn't want her to have to go through the winter here, since I've never done it. We've heard horror stories, I just wanted to see the place for myself and have somewhere established for her to come home to."

"I can't wait to meet her!" Cloud chirped.

Zack looked wistful. "It's going to be a long winter. But I mean, not long enough that you're going to look appealing!"

"I was in the navy with a lot of men who said the same thing, until we were at sea for a few months!"

Zack laughed. "Please don't flirt with me and make your husband try to kill me again!"

Sephiroth crossed his arms, uneasy with all of this friendly banter between his wife and a… very attractive stranger. "Your wife approves of you hunting for other women? And talk to them while she's so far away?"

Zack shrugged, not at all aware that 'other women' also included Cloud. "Sure."

White people were so strange. Sephiroth blinked his eyes in rapid resignation. "She approves, is important."

"Wait until I write her about this!" Zack guffawed. "She'll definitely be happy I have you around to keep me in line!"

Cloud confirmed nobody was outside the shop before grabbing Sephiroth's waist into a quick hug. "It was just a misunderstanding. Sephiroth and I have them a lot."

Zack propped his chin on one hand and looked at them dreamily. "So you're actually lovers, then? Did you fall in love when Sephiroth saved the village?"

"Much before that," Sephiroth told him, kissing the top of Cloud's head as he remembered those first few weeks as friends. "First sight of him, I loved."

Cloud's eyebrows turned up helplessly as he pushed Sephiroth away. "Zack, it's important that you keep this a confidence between us. Don't let it get out."

Zack refrained from saying that Cloud and Sephiroth's painfully obvious love affair was one of the top five things to gossip about in the colony. "In exchange for keeping this huge secret... Sephiroth can take me hunting!"

"You want hunt with me?" Sephiroth asked critically.

"I need to learn the real Shin-Ra way!" Zack crowed. "Make a warrior hunter of me!"

"I agree to teach," Sephiroth said, surprising Cloud.

Zack had no idea was he was in for, and was overjoyed. "Alright! When can we begin?"

"Be in woman form and at forest mouth when moon is above the serpent's tongue."

Zack's face crumpled in confusion. "Woman form - ?"

"Actually, tonight isn't good for a hunt," Cloud interjected. "Sephiroth has duties at home that he needs to take care of. Why don't you plan for tomorrow night?"

"Duties?" Sephiroth inquired.

"I need your help with something tonight..." Cloud hinted gently, his hands slipping discretely beneath his long coat to caress his muscular hips. "It's probably going to take you most of the night to finish..."

When it dawned on him, Sephiroth gave Zack a stern nod. "Tomorrow, hunt. Serpent's tongue. We must be going now."

Zack was baffled, "What the hell does that mean, though?"

"Be at the edge of the town at three in the morning," Cloud grinned as he followed along with Sephiroth's tugging hand. "We'll both be there to get you. Don't bring any weapons, and don't wear anything but your stockings."

"What? Are you serious?" Zack cried.

Cloud was now being literally carried out of the shop. "You want to hunt the Shin-Ra way, right?"

"Well... I guess."

"See you at the serpent's tongue!" He managed to say before the door swung shut, and then struggled out of Sephiroth's arms. "Be proper until we get home!"

"Cannot," Sephiroth told him, holding Cloud's face and laying a deep kiss on his lips in broad daylight.

Cloud grabbed onto Sephiroth's coat and was trapped between pushing him away and holding him close. It felt like the entire colony was looking out of their windows and watching, and probably readying their torches to burn them both alive. In reality, the only people to witness their daring kiss was Zack from inside the shop, and a group of little kids playing in the alleyway across the street. None of those people were particularly bothered by it.

When Sephiroth was satisfied, he released Cloud and stood up tall. He was surprised when his normally prude partner pulled him down for another chance to slip his tongue into Sephiroth's mouth and taste him.

"Let's go home and get naked," Cloud smiled, rubbing his cold nose against Sephiroth's. He then uttered the same sentence in the Shin-Ra language. It hit the native's ears as the most seductive thing Cloud had ever said to him.

"You must be proper until we get there," Sephiroth told him, grinning at the ridiculousness of it finally coming from his own mouth. They were able to separate long enough to at least get out of the social confines of the colony, and eventually felt comfortable enough to hold hands again. It felt so good that they slowed down to a stroll, their fingers threaded tight.

"I'm upset with you," Cloud murmured with a smile, swinging Sephiroth's arm a bit.

Sephiroth looked down at him, not slowing his gait but paying attention.

Cloud squeezed his hand, "You've insulted me as your wife. I think you owe me an apology for accusing me of wanting another man."

Sephiroth reacted far more dramatically than Cloud expected him to. He slid in front of Cloud on the snowy path and dropped to his knees. "Forgive me."

"Seph! I was only teasing you..." Cloud went to pull him up to his feet, but was stopped when Sephiroth wrapped both arms around his waist. He stopped making excuses when he realized that... it was a bit true that he was insulted. He was more relieved that the whole issue was over though, and slipped his gloved fingers through Sephiroth's hair. "I forgive you."

"Bunny..." Sephiroth closed his eyes and pressed his face against Cloud's stomach. "Dishonored you... I'm so foolish like you always say."

"I forgive you..." Cloud repeated, hugging Sephiroth tight around his neck. He then took a step back, and reached down to help his lover to his feet. "You're not foolish, you're brilliant."

"I'm sorry," Sephiroth told him again and again, trying to make up for all the kisses he'd neglected giving his beloved partner. "I did not understand."

Cloud whispered, holding his face close. "You're strong. And kind. And you're stubborn! You've just got to_ tell _me when you think something is wrong. You can't just let it go on like that forever."

"I try harder for you," Sephiroth pressed his face against Cloud's shoulder helplessly, inhaling his scent and leaving his own behind. "I learn English well enough to say everything I'm thinking. No fights."

"I'll learn more Shin-Ra, I promise."

"I talk to you in Shin-Ra, help you learn," Sephiroth promised, kissing Cloud's face repeatedly. "Bunny, it make me crazy to think... you want another man. You and he talk so much, so fast I never know what you're saying. He seem like more proper for you than me."

"That's not true!" Cloud cried, hugging his neck tight. "I've never wanted anyone until I met you."

Sephiroth couldn't bring himself to say Zack's name - not when he'd created such a vivid personal vendetta against him. "You think that other man is sexy?"

Cloud shook his head, a tiny fib. But it was covered over by a greater truth. "_You're_ sexy."

Sephiroth pressed relieved kisses all over Cloud's soft face and across his chest. They easily had another half an hour's walk to arrive home, but it the need was too strong and immediate. Cloud grabbed Sephiroth's coat and pulled him off the path and towards the forest.

Their boots crunched through the dead leaves until they couldn't be bothered to go any farther. Sephiroth pulled Cloud against him by the ass, picking up him slightly and pressing him into the back of a thick based tree. It wouldn't completely hide them from the view of anyone on the path, but it was enough.

Their breath came out in hard gasps as Cloud worked the laces on Sephiroth's pants, pulling them down just enough to let his hard cock bounce free. It was freezing outside, the hard stillness before the first major snowfall to come. The space between their bodies was hot, and Sephiroth easily wrapped the ends of his loose coat around Cloud, pressing his leaking erection against the hardness in Cloud's pants.

"I want you inside me," Cloud moaned, hating the cumbersome clothes he wore in that moment.

Sephiroth turned them until his back was touching the tree, and sank down to the ground. He had Cloud's pants unbuttoned in a few quick motions of his fingers, and pulled them down just enough. He then picked up the ends of his coat and held Cloud close, offering all the warmth he could.

Cloud spat into his palm and rubbed it over his lover's achingly hard cock, and hovered over it for a moment. It had been a while since they'd done this, but Cloud was eager enough to drop down onto it without any further hesitation.

A moan was ripped from Sephiroth's throat at the suddenness of it all. As much as he loved the way Cloud's body moved when he was on top, this encounter was a little too freezing and frantic for a slow ride. He moved beneath Cloud himself, bouncing him just enough to create the friction they were both craving.

"Yes," Cloud whispered against his ear, his arms wrapped tight around Sephiroth's neck to hang on.

His hands were rough on Cloud's skin beneath the coat; they gripped his ass and forced him up and down in a swift, rough rhythm. He kept his lips sealed, swallowing his desire to moan as his cock was squeezed tight by Cloud's body.

The two had crafted non-verbal communication during sex into an art form. They knew exactly what the other wanted instinctively. Cloud wanted to be handled rough, owned, and taken by this man. And Sephiroth wanted to reclaim what in his mind had been nearly taken from him. Their desires synched up more perfectly than ever, and it was silver lining to the greatest mishap in their relationship thus far.

Cloud kissed Sephiroth's closed lips, prying them open with his tongue. It was easy to forget the cold around them, to sink into the heat of each other's mouth while the hard, rough pleasure of hasty sex tightened between their cores.

'I love you' in Sephiroth's language meant much the same thing. It wasn't thrown around casually though, and was meant to only leave a tribe member's lips a few times in life. Sephiroth said it then to his beloved partner, achingly relieved that his suspicions were incorrect, and that his favorite person in the world still looked at him like he was the only thing that mattered.

Cloud knew the basic meaning of the phrase, and repeated it back to Sephiroth. It shouldn't have had the same impact coming from a non-tribe individual with an atrocious accent, but it did for Sephiroth. He smiled at the poorly pronounced words, loving Cloud for trying. This slight, fair skinned man had a grip on his heart that couldn't be denied. Sephiroth had come to terms that he was an orphan now, too… and he and Cloud created their own culture together.

"Come," Cloud urged, pressing kisses against Sephiroth's neck. "Finish it, Seph."

It didn't take much more urging than that, and with a silent shiver through his frame, he unloaded inside his lover. It pulsed out of him seemingly with no end, shock after shock took his breath as Cloud squeezed it out of him.

Cloud lifted up a bit, letting it slip free. He then stood up, pressing his reddened cock against Sephiroth's lips. He opened his mouth immediately, gasping for air through his nose as he sucked Cloud down to his tight, full balls.

He held Cloud's ass with both hands, squeezing the adorable flesh there as he bobbed his head to greedily run his lips over every inch of Cloud's cock. He dug his fingers into Sephiroth's hair, holding him in place. The pent up frustration of over a month without sex shot out of him all at once, hitting the back of Sephiroth's throat.

Sephiroth loved to swallow. He completely surrendered as Cloud pumped his mouth with more warm, bitter fluid. With a few licks, Cloud was completely clean before he pulled his pants up and rebuttoned them.

Cloud was still recovering, almost unconscious on his feet as he leaned weakly against the tree. "... That was so good."

Sephiroth pushed through any lethargy that the fast, intense session had brought, and stood up. He laced his pants quickly before tenderly pulling Cloud into his arms and setting off for home. If Cloud felt embarrassment for being carried, it didn't show as he closed his eyes and cuddled into the warm comfort of his lover's arms.

He didn't get to sleep when they got home, however. Sephiroth didn't attend to his duties halfway, he made damn sure that anything Cloud had been missing during their spat was repaid in full.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

On the anniversary of Sephiroth's heroism, the couple always had a little feast with Reno and Rude. This year, Zack was coming to celebrate with them, as well. They planned to slaughter the older male pig they had, leaving the mother to breed and the babies to be sold or traded in the spring. Soup was bubbling away in the fireplace, and Cloud was excited to give Sephiroth his gift before the party… but the man was nowhere to be found.

Instinct led Cloud to the barn, where Sephiroth was seated on the bale of hay in the pig's pen.

"Seph?" Cloud called.

"I'm not killing the pig," Sephiroth answered.

Cloud closed the barn door against the cold, and stepped into the pen. He sat next to Sephiroth, who was holding one of the babies in his arms. "You don't have to."

"Hunters don't kill animals they live with," Sephiroth frowned, clearly having grown attached to these creatures. "Is disrespect. Take what need from wild, not to raise it from baby and have trust."

"You don't have to," Cloud repeated kindly, rubbing Sephiroth's thigh.

"… Is foolish. I know," Sephiroth said, his muscles tensing as he put the pig down. He huffed as the baby immediately rubbed against his leg in desire to be picked back up. "… Wasteful to keep these animals. Is not hunter."

"We don't have to be hunters all the time, Seph," Cloud smiled at the chubby piglet that was so trusting towards the dangerous warrior native. "We have plenty to eat. We don't ever have to slaughter any of these pigs if you don't want to."

"Husband is supposed to give to you, not take from you," Sephiroth argued with himself.

"Can I be your husband in this matter?"

"… What?"

Cloud sat up a little taller. "I've been hunting the Shin-Ra way with you and Zack."

"Barely," Sephiroth huffed.

"Well… am I a man, yet?"

Sephiroth thought on that very seriously. There was this whole thing with an eagle's egg that Cloud had to go through, but for his experience in the English navy, his current skills in hunting, and the fact that he had the desire to become a man… for all intents and purposes… "You would be seen as a man by the elders."

"Then if I'm a man, aren't I your husband?"

It was a little awkward to admit, but Sephiroth nodded. "Bunny is my husband."

"Then your husband would like to give these pigs to you to do whatever you please with!" Cloud giggled. "What would you like to do with them?"

Sephiroth didn't smile, and was extremely serious. "Hug them."

Cloud laughed harder. "It's decided, then! Hugs only for these pigs. And aren't they the luckiest in the world?"

Sephiroth felt that it shouldn't be that easy. "Not disappoint?"

"Reno will be disappointed," Cloud conceded, because the Irishman really loved bacon. "But this party isn't about him, and he'll get over it."

"Party is not ruin?"

"No way," Cloud grinned. "Zack's bringing some lovely pudding –"

"Blech," Sephiroth interjected.

"- and he's also bringing a turkey. Those bastards are pretty ugly, you don't have problems eating those, do you?"

Sephiroth laughed, as he always did when Cloud swore. "Is good plan."

"I have a gift for you," Cloud grinned, pulling Sephiroth up by the hand. "Come inside!"

They shuffled between sleeping baby pigs and over the fence, and then ran through the biting cold and into the warm cabin. Cloud handed Sephiroth the package containing his gifts, and bit his fingers in anticipation of the native opening it.

"What is?" Sephiroth asked, his eyes wide and the faintest tinge of blush on his cheeks.

"A gift!"

"… Why?"

"Because," Cloud told him. "Open it up."

Sephiroth was hesitant, but unwrapped the pants Cloud had worked so hard on. He didn't say anything, and looked at them for a very long time.

"… I made them," Cloud offered after several uncomfortable moments. "The seamstress helped."

Sephiroth's mother had fashioned new pants for him twice every year, sometimes more often if he experienced a growth spurt. Since her death and the evacuation of the tribe, Sephiroth had assumed that the pants he wore would be the last he'd ever own. In a way they were, because English seams were very different, and the fly was done in buttons instead of laces.

Bittersweet feelings of gratitude and mourning flooded Sephiroth. He looked up at his lover, who was waiting in apprehension for some sort of response. "Thank you."

"Do you like them?"

"… Yes. Thank you!" Sephiroth came more to life, and stood up to immediately try the new garments on.

The pants were… tight. Cloud blushed, "Well… leather is meant to be worn in, right?"

"Yes," Sephiroth agreed. "Takes few weeks. They're good. No chafing, I hope."

Cloud giggled, and held out the coat. "Try this on, too."

Outerwear was never Sephiroth's favorite thing, but he shrugged into the coat so that Cloud could see the completed look. "Is good?"

"Very," Cloud smiled, proud of his own ingenuity and for having such a handsome model to try it out on. "Alright, off with the coat."

"I wear pants?" Sephiroth smiled, handing the coat to Cloud to be folded.

Cloud nodded. "Yes! If you like these, I'll make you more. Maybe something lighter for summer? Do you think Rude would like some, too?"

"Ask him. Ask him if he needs ozoge," Sephiroth told him. "Ozoge is these kind of pants."

"Ozoge," Cloud attempted, butchering it with his accent but getting the word right. "How do I say coat?"

"Rude doesn't want a coat."

"Yeah, but like you he still needs one. You might be warriors, but I know for certain that you get cold sometimes."

"Akahata olge," Sephiroth told him in several syllables.

Cloud opened his mouth to attempt the word, but then closed it. "… Maybe I'll just start out by asking him if he wants pants."

'_Do you want what's in my pants?'_ Sephiroth asked him cheekily in Shin-Ra.

"Lila," Cloud answered.

The word meant 'very', which was an extremely innocent, baby-like response. When coupled with a soft smile and hot gaze from narrowed blue eyes, the effect went straight to Sephiroth's groin.

Cloud pretended not to notice as he went about making the preparations for their party. He smiled to himself, glad he didn't take the seamstress's advice not to leave so much room in the crotch.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N

I'm gonna go eat some pumpkin pie now! Even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, you have to appreciate the power of pumpkin pie, right?

Owmyhearteries dot deviantart dot com / art / Thanksgiving2014-496936950


End file.
